The Choices We Made
by Copperfishy
Summary: The very lengthy epilogue to The Choices We Make. Basically a series of oneshots.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"No, Elena, you cannot just buy your books the first week of classes!" Caroline screeched into the phone. "I mean, how do you expect to follow along in class if you don't even have your books! What if they assign homework!? How are you going to get anything done!?"

Her voice was a distant hum in the background to Elena as Damon's lips worked their magic on hers. Hell, she wasn't even holding the phone close to her ear. It was long forgotten and sitting on the couch next to where she was straddling Damon's lap while kissing him like it would be the last they'd ever share. His hands roamed over her entire body, starting from right beneath her breasts, around to her sides and down her curves until they slid over her hips and around to cup her ass, pulling her closer against his hardening crotch.

"Hello? Are you eve listening to me!? Elena Marie Gilbert!"

Elena finally forced herself away from Damon, giggling as he bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop her from moving away too far and she scooped up her phone and brought it to her ear.

"Yeah, Care, I'm here. What were you saying?"

She bit her lower lip to stop from squealing in delight when Damon buried his face in her neck and playfully nipped at every inch of skin he could find until she was squirming in his lap. He didn't let her get too far though; his arms tightened around her as he moved to kiss the exposed skin of her chest that her tank top revealed.

"Unbelievable. Can you two stop dry humping for five minutes while I talk to Elena?"

Damon pouted at the phone while Elena rolled her eyes, "Seriously, Care, what were you saying? Hurry before Damon starts again…"

She huffed, "Why haven't you bought your books yet?"

Elena shared a look with her boyfriend then answered, "Because half of the time college professors don't require you to buy every single book, and I'm not going to waste money on them if I don't have to."

"Right, so when we start taking notes and covering material on the first day of class, what are you going to do?" She countered.

Damon rolled his eyes and mimicked shooting himself in the head while Elena held back a laugh. "I'll take notes in my notebook! Jeez, Caroline, would you relax? I'm not worried about it, so you shouldn't be either!"

Elena reached for Damon's hair and tugged him back to her mouth, parting her lips for his tongue to meet with hers while still holding the phone to her ear. Caroline groaned, "But I have our room layout planned to a T! We each have our own desks, beds, and storage space, and then we have a communal table for things like a microwave and coffee maker. I have a spot for _everything_ in there, and I need to know how many books you're going to have to know if I need to make more space for my own books or if I can just steal some of yours!"

Damon snatched the phone from Elena's hand and broke the kiss, but Elena continued kissing his face and neck while he snapped, "Cool it with the psychotic control freak act, College Barbie. Now, either call Elena with something that's _actually_ important, or get off the damn phone!"

He clicked end call and threw her phone on the table before forcing her mouth back to his while she chided, "That was really mean of you…"

He smirked, "You're still kissing me though…"

She blew out a laugh before kissing him quickly, "College move in day is tomorrow. She's in extreme planning mode on crack."

"Mm, still kinda wish you didn't have to go." He mumbled against her lips.

She giggled, "You know you can visit whenever you want, right?"

He pouted, "But your so called 'education' is going to steal you away from me. I've had you all to myself this entire summer, and I'm not good at sharing."

Elena smirked deviously, sending him a little shrug, "I'm sure I could convince my professors to let you join me in a lecture…I bet there's all sorts of trouble we could get into sitting next to each other."

His eyes widened as he warned, "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to poke a sleeping bear?"

"If I had left that bear alone, then I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be here right now." She teased before climbing off of him.

Over the summer, she had pretty much moved into the boarding house with Damon. It kind of worked out too, because Bonnie spent ninety nine percent of her time with Jeremy at their house, and listening to her best friend and brother go at it was just an awful experience, what with supernatural hearing and all.

After graduation, Stefan had pulled Elena aside and they had a long overdue talk about everything that went down between them. Their feelings were still raw even after all this time, but for Elena it wasn't the love like it was with Stefan. It was more anger and sorrow than anything. Stefan then shared a little about what he and Lexi had talked about when she was here. She told him that he wasn't going to get over Elena by torturing himself by experiencing her relationship with his brother, so Stefan shared that he was planning on taking some time off from Mystic Falls.

The last they heard, he was visiting an old friend in London. He planned on coming home soon since everyone was going off to college and he wanted to be there for the important moments in their lives.

Yep, Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie had finally made it to college. Elena was majoring in English with the intention of becoming a writer, Caroline was undecided, and Bonnie was going to be an occult professor, so she was studying the same things that her grandmother taught. After everything that life threw at them in high school, they all graduated, got accepted to college, and were tediously planning every last detail of their room. Well, some more than others.

Meanwhile, Damon was staying back in Mystic Falls to keep an eye on Jeremy and act as his legal guardian for all things school related. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled that Elena wasn't letting him come with her. But with no one else in the town to fill the role of Jeremy's caretaker, the job was left to him.

And Matt had promised to drop by now and then to make sure the vampire hadn't strangled the kid in a fit of annoyance.

Stefan would always be around too, just in case Damon was visiting her at Whitmore and something happened. She hoped that while he was home and she was away, it would really give the brothers a chance to start building a real relationship that wasn't based on hatred.

While that was one pro of leaving Damon, she was having a harder time coming up with any others. She was going to miss him like hell, because just like him, she didn't want college to force her to share him with studying.

But it was only four years, and in the grand scheme of things, that was nothing.

It wasn't a thought that sent happy chills through Elena's body like it might to others, that she was going to exist just as she was until she was killed. She had wanted all of the human things that vampires couldn't have, like mortality, or kids. Even after she found out about vampires existing, she had still envisioned herself growing old with the man she loved with their family ever growing and their love never ending.

Now, that just wasn't in the cards for her, and that was okay. Maybe she still wanted those things, but she had a love so deep and fulfilling that it was all she'd ever need. She would have Damon forever, as well as Caroline and Stefan, and when she imagined her forever with them, the thought of it was comforting.

Definitely not everything she ever dreamed of, but not the worst thing in the world either.

While maybe she would outlive everyone around her including her own brother and best friend, she would get to spend forever with Damon, living life and experiencing everything with him.

And that was all she could ever ask for. That was why she didn't mind being a vampire. Not only could nothing be done to change it, but even if she was human, she would love to spend forever with him. It was all she could ask for really, so was she upset that they were both vampires?

Absolutely not. In fact, a large part of her was thrilled that they'd never have to worry about human sickness and the frailty of mortality. Hell, even the whole 'not aging' thing wasn't terrible. Maybe it would become a little bothersome when they found a place they really liked and settled down because people would notice that they weren't aging, but it wasn't a big deal.

Now that Elena was a vampire, all of her hopes and dreams had adjusted accordingly. She wasn't going to completely abandon human life. After all, she was just a nineteen year old girl.

The future no longer seemed bleak with the promise of an eternity to do whatever she wanted with her soulmate.

And as she looked down into the bright blue eyes shining with complete and utter adoration as they melted into her own chocolate ones, she knew that she would never regret sacrificing her human life for his vampire life.

Turning to grab her phone, Elena saw that she had received several very angry texts from Caroline and frowned. It was unlike the blonde bombshell to get so upset over something so little that barely even affected her…

"Damon? Do you think Caroline sounded normal?" Seeing the raised brow, Elena elaborated, "I mean, she's never been normal, but even less normal than she usually is? Like, almost borderline psychopath? She was freaking out over desk space. That's not quite her level, don't you think?"

He shrugged, "I thought she sounded like her usual annoying self, but you're the best friend. You tell me."

"Maybe I should go check on her…I know I promised to spend this last night before move-in day with you, but something was off about her. She shouldn't be so angry as to call me a 'self-absorbed vampire beotch with a jackass boyfriend that deserves to rot in hell.'"

"Harsh." Damon agreed. "But I also think that Caroline can handle herself. She's a big girl Elena, if something was seriously wrong she would have told you."

"You're just saying that because you want me all to yourself." She pointed out, giving him a disapproving look.

"Well can you blame me? Just look at you. What man wouldn't want you all to himself?" She smiled at the compliment and moved between his legs from where he still sat on the couch. She bent down to kiss him softly and he smirked against her lips, "Especially when you're all naked and hot for me."

She laughed and stood up straight, "Way to ruin the moment."

She wound up deciding that she would head down to Whitmore a day early both to make sure Caroline was alright with everything and help her with setting up their dorm room. They were in a freshman hall on the top floor in a three person room with its own bathroom, so as far as space went, they were looking pretty good.

Caroline and her mom had driven down yesterday on Caroline's insistence of needing to make sure everything was perfect. She wanted to tour the campus again and a bunch of stuff that Elena just found excessive, but now that she was thinking about it, maybe Caroline was trying to distract herself with the work. That was her go-to move when she was upset.

Elena sped upstairs and packed a small overnight bag and was back downstairs before Damon even stood up from the couch.

"I'm going to drive down there and make sure she's okay. Will you bring all of my stuff down in your car tomorrow?"

"And miss move-in day?" He smirked, placing his hands on her hips. "Not for the world."

She kissed him sweetly, "I love you. I'll make up tonight to you soon, promise."

"You better." He insisted. "Or else you might force me to go to drastic measures and tie you to the bed."

Her cheeks heating up slightly at the memory, she quietly asked, "You didn't already get your fill on doing that?"

He chuckled, "Look at you acting all innocent like you haven't been a willing participant in all of the kinky things we've done over the summer."

She sighed, "Okay, I really have to go if I want to make it there before rush hour hits."

He smiled to himself before kissing her quickly, "Drive safe, baby. I love you."

"See you tomorrow." She returned, grabbing her keys on the way out.

* * *

When Elena finally made it to the hotel Caroline and her mom were staying in, she quickly tracked down their room. The dorms were closed for students until tomorrow, so they were forced to stay at a hotel until then.

Liz was surprised to see her, but explained that Caroline had been insistent on getting to see the dorm room today so she could take some more measurements and go pick up some other furniture at the store before the day was over.

Thinking that breaking into their residence hall seemed extreme, Elena high tailed it over to the building they would call home for the next few months. All of the doors were locked just as she expected, complete with electronic devices that required an ID badge to gain access too. Naturally, she then went for the windows and found that they were locked too. But all it took was one forceful pull, and the lock popped open and granted her access.

She silently crept through the halls just in case anyone was around, but she couldn't hear any humans.

As she climbed the stairs to the third floor where they were staying, she heard the sound of voices coming from a movie, but she couldn't be sure which one. It got louder and louder as she reached their room, and she mentally sighed when she recognized the sound of sniffling and voices from _The Notebook._

Without bothering to knock, Elena threw open the door. Caroline's eyes were wide, red, and watery, and she was clutching a container of moose tracks ice cream like it was the last bag of blood and she had been starved for days. Black makeup ran down her cheeks, and her hair was haphazardly pulled up into a bun with several long chunks hanging around her face and clinging to her skin from her wet tears. She was wearing a t-shirt that was far too big for her and had some unidentifiable orange stain on the front, and her sweatpants were just as baggy and loose fitting.

Overall, she looked like a mess. And not even the hot kind.

Elena looked at her sympathetically, "Care, what happened?"

She removed the spoon loaded with far too much ice cream from her mouth, and with a mouthful of ice cream her face crumpled and she mumbled some completely unintelligible. Elena shut the door behind her and quickly moved to sit next to her best friend, wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"Swallow that ice cream and tell me again?" She asked gently while Caroline leaned the side of her head against Elena's shoulder.

She sucked in a few ragged breaths and sniffled a couple times before saying, "Tyler broke up with me!"

"What!?" Elena gaped, appalled. "Why?"

Leaving the spoon in the carton, Caroline wrapped her arms around Elena's waist and cried, "He told me that this stupid pack he's been with the entire summer really needs him, and he couldn't come to college this semester, which led to a huge fight because I haven't seen him in two months, Elena, and eventually he told me that if I wasn't okay with him doing what was important to him, then maybe we weren't supposed to be together. I told him he was being insane and that I loved him, but he didn't care! He just ended things and told me that it was better this way!"

After finally getting it all out, she broke down once again into sobs and Elena held her tightly, resting her cheek against her head. She offered, "He's a dick, Care, and I know what I'm talking about when it comes to dicks no thanks to Damon. You deserve so much better."

She nodded and wailed, "I know! But I wanted him! He was all I ever wanted!"

While the entire summer Elena had kept her opinions of the wolf to herself because she saw how happy he made Caroline, now she didn't have to hold back. So she began her onslaught of accusations that both she and Bonnie had been feeling but keeping from their best friend.

"He hasn't been around here for more than a couple days for months, Caroline. He clearly didn't value your relationship as much as you did. He's not worth all of the tears, because you can bet that right now, he's not even thinking about you. What kind of guy abandons his girlfriend for a bunch of people he doesn't even know?"

"You're right…" She whimpered. "This entire summer, I've pasted on a smile and looked forward to phone calls that half the time lasted less than five minutes. I deserve so much better than that!" Now that she was getting angry, her tears had stopped and she pushed herself away from Elena to sit up straight, "He cares more about a bunch of strangers that have survived without him for years, and suddenly now that he's a hybrid, he thinks he's god's gift to everyone! He thinks that the wolves he's helping are worshipping the ground he walks on because he's a species all of his own! But guess what? Being a new type of supernatural doesn't make you any less of a dick."

"And Tyler has been a dick ever since middle school." Elena pointed out. "He used Vicki, bullied my brother, and chose revenge at Klaus over you. You almost died, multiple times, because he bit you! I get that for a while there while he was trying to figure out how to just be a werewolf, he was a different person. But once he wasn't forced to change and endure the punishment for triggering the curse, he was back to his old self. I know better than anyone that you can't change someone who doesn't want to change. And Tyler has no desire to be anyone but a self absorbed hybrid."

"I wish I would have known sooner…" She sighed, back to her sad self. She reached for the box of tissues next to her and blew her nose. "I feel like I just wasted so much of my life on someone that didn't deserve it!"

Elena smirked, knowing this was one part that she could make her best friend feel better about. "On the bright side, at least you have forever to make up for it. You'll get all that time back and then some, because we've only just begun living our lives."

"That's easy for you to say." She grumbled playfully, smiling a little. "You and Damon are like, perfect together… I know it took me a while to get here, but after seeing how much you love him, and how amazingly well you two compliment each other, it's hard to deny that you're meant to be."

"You'll find your soulmate one day, Care. I promise. With an eternity in front of you, it's practically impossible not to. Just look at Damon. He waited 150 years to find me. It might take a while, but you'll find who you're meant to be with."

She sniffed once and nodded, "Yeah. I just wish I was a little more patient."

Elena shrugged, "Well now that you're single, your college slut phase will be all the better!"

Caroline blew out a laugh, "True. And now I don't have to feel guilty for finding guys hot."

"And this is just the beginning." Elena grinned widely. "Our first day of four years of being grown up sluts starts tomorrow, and we are going to embrace every second of it."

She raised an amused brow, "You're going to be a slut with me? What about Damon?"

Elena smirked, "What do you mean? Damon loves it when I'm a slut with him."

"Gross!" She squealed, grabbing a pillow and smacking it across Elena's face. "Way too much information!"

Laughing hysterically, Elena managed, "What? Don't act like you haven't been a slut with your previous boyfriends!"

"But I don't talk about it!"

"Bullshit, because of you I know that Jason Beckley has a donut shaped birthmark on his left ass cheek!"

Caroline giggled, "Oh my god, I completely forgot about that! It was so hilarious, we were just about to have sex when he turned to get a condom and I saw it—"

"Point proven!" Elena interrupted her, earning another laugh. She then motioned to the TV and said, "Turn off this sad crap right now and find something funny we can watch. I'm going to text Damon to let him know what's happening, and then we can stay up all night eating ice cream, pizza, and watching comedies, okay?"

She nodded, "I love you, Lena. Thanks for coming here when I know you wanted to spend one last night with Damon."

Elena smiled at her, "Hoes before bros, chicks before dicks, and all that, right?"

* * *

"Damon, you're late!" Caroline screeched as she stomped outside to where Damon had just parked his car packed to the brim with all of Elena's crap. He glanced at the clock, noting that he was three minutes later than he told Elena.

'Late.'

Swinging open the door and stepping outside, he quipped, "Come on, Blondie, just because your parade's been rained on doesn't mean the rest of us deserve to suffer."

She glared at him, "Remind me to stake Elena for ever telling you about my problems."

Since last night, Caroline had managed to pull herself together so she could start move in day on a good note. Elena had no idea how well she was holding it together or how long it would last, but between her and Bonnie they figured they'd be able to help her bounce back from this breakup.

Damon listened for the sounds of his girlfriend around them since he didn't see her, but figured she was up in their room with Bonnie and Caroline's mom still getting everything set up.

Seeing his complete lack of attention, Caroline huffed, "She's busy putting together our photo collage with Bonnie, so start helping me carry all of her stuff up."

Damon decided to shut his mouth and cut the girl some slack. He hadn't exactly been a bucket of sunshine when Elena had her humanity off, so he figured it was only fair.

But she wouldn't be getting anymore handouts from him.

Damon opened the trunk and Caroline mumbled to herself, "Her closet will be fairly easy to fill so we'll leave all of her clothes until last, meaning that school supplies, makeup, and jewelry should come first along with any other pictures or furniture she has…"

Rolling his eyes, Damon grabbed the first plastic tub he saw and ignored Caroline's protests. He began walking towards the door and Caroline soon appeared next to him, carrying another container of her own, "Speaking of Elena's jewelry…"

Damon raised a brow, "What are you getting at?"

"You know, I heard what Rose said on graduation day. I was looking for anyone I knew in the crowd when I spotted you talking to her, Ric, and Jeremy…"

Damon tensed, not liking the fact that the entire world seemed to know about that damn ring he had. "And?"

She looked at him incredulously as they began going up the steps, "And everything! What the hell are you waiting for? I get that she's going to live forever, but do you have any idea how happy she would be if that forever got to start off with a bang and a giant shiny diamond on her fing—"

"A little louder, Caroline!" Damon hissed under his breath.

She instantly snapped her mouth shut and sheepishly whispered, "Sorry. But seriously, what's taking you so long to ask her? You spent the entire summer holding her hostage in your bed, and you couldn't find five minutes to pop the question?"

"You know what I think? That it's none of your damn business." Damon barked.

Yeah, maybe he was taking a ridiculously long time to pluck up the courage to ask his girl to marry him, but that wasn't without a good excuse.

He wanted everything to be perfect.

And as it turns out, that was really fucking hard when the girl he was trying to ask to spend the rest of her life with him was the goddamn definition of perfect.

Nothing seemed good enough for her. He wanted to avoid anything cliché, like taking her out on a boat, or on the top of a building in the city, or putting the ring in her champagne glass. He wasn't going to stick it in her dessert either, because knowing her, she'd eat the damn thing and never know any better. He couldn't just be spontaneous either and ask her when they were lounging around the house doing nothing because she deserved to have someone go the extra length over her.

That left him stuck in a place where he wanted to ask her more than anything but couldn't because he didn't know how.

But he wasn't going to go confessing all of that to Vampire Barbie, of all people.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence between the two, only Caroline's judgmental glare filling the space between them. She led the way to their room which was at the end of the hall on a corner and strutted inside saying, "Elena, your ass is here."

Resisting the urge to snap her neck, Damon set down the container just inside of their room and his gaze settled on his entire world. She rolled her eyes at Caroline as she stood up, and she shot him a wide smile as she walked towards him. He held out his arms and slid right into them, greeting him with a chaste kiss, "Hey, how was the drive?"

"Spent in perfect silence, which is a virtue Blondie seems to lack."

They really were like oil and water, Elena thought with a smile.

"Well then why don't I come help you unload the car instead?" She offered, not intending it to be a question as she pulled him through the door.

It took nearly all day, but finally the five of them managed to put together the room completely. All of their comforters on their single beds were patterned differently but were all the same colors. Light blue and lavender. Bonnie's bed was against the wall next to the door, and Elena and Caroline's beds were positioned between the windows on the left wall. Their bathroom was thoroughly cleaned and prepped for any kind of emergency they had, even a bottle of bleach to get rid of blood stains. The microwave and coffee maker were set up in the small kitchenette that was really only counter space. They had a small fridge and a hot plate to cook on, at least for Bonnie. The curtains covering the window matched their color scheme, and they made sure that they were blackout curtains just in case there was a ring mishap and either vampire needed somewhere to hide. Their closets were stuffed full of clothes, and their personal desks were piled high with pictures, school supplies, and their makeup.

All that was left to do was to say goodbye.

Bonnie's parents had shown up halfway through the day, so while she said goodbye to them and Caroline ushered her mom into her car, Elena reluctantly headed outside with Damon.

She pouted at him, "I don't want you to go."

He smirked, "Well I plan on forgetting all about you the second I get in my car."

She smiled, "Like you could even if you tried."

He cupped her cheek and used his thumb to stroke her soft cheekbone, "Who would ever want to forget a face like this?"

Elena leaned up on her tiptoes to press a long kiss to his lips, her arms going around his neck. He pushed her hair behind her ear with the hand still lingering on her face and the other went around her waist to pull her flush against him.

When they separated, Elena leaned her forehead against his and said, "I love you."

"And I love you." He returned in the same soft tone.

He then pulled open his car door as Elena rambled, "When you get home, can you check on Jeremy? I texted him a few minutes ago but he hasn't answered yet, and I want to make sure he's ready for school. It's his senior year and he really has to start thinking about school seriously if he wants to go to college. Maybe take him shopping to get supplies if he doesn't have everything, and remember to pick up his schedule from the high school! I've already listed you as a guardian for him with the school, so it shouldn't be a problem, and—"

"Baby!" Damon laughed, shaking her shoulders to get her to stop talking. She looked at him exasperatedly and he grinned, "I got this, okay? It's not that hard to send the kid to high school, kitten. No need to worry that beautiful head of yours, alright?" When she nodded, he continued, "Now, you're going to head up to your room, put on one of those cute dresses you wear, and go to the student center with your best friends and join a bunch of clubs you don't care about and protest a bunch of stuff you don't understand."

She laughed softly, "That's what college students do?"

"Don't forget the partying." He pointed out. "But no partying like we did last year, okay?"

Rolling her eyes a little, she quipped, "Well damn, there goes my plan to get high on blood and give some random dude a blowjob in a closet!"

Damon chuckled, "Yeah, I think being away from me will do that sarcasm a little good."

She smiled, "I'll see you soon, okay? Are you still bringing Jeremy to visit next weekend?"

"Of course." He kissed her quickly. "I'll see you then, beautiful."


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad everyone seems to like this so far! A guest reviewer said that The Choices We Make is one of their favorite stories they've ever read and it made me really eager to post more :) I will continue updating this epilogue, but as of now I'm not looking to keep writing more. I've moved on to other stories, so hopefully I can finish one of them soon and start posting.

* * *

"Please, Damon?" Elena begged from their bed in the boarding house, bouncing on it a little for emphasis as she gave him her puppy dog eyes from across the room.

Damon was standing in the bathroom shaving his face, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He was fresh out of the shower and getting ready for this party that Elena was dragging him to.

"I didn't even want to go to start with, but now you're trying to get me to wear _that_?"

He practically spat the word out like it was coated in vervain, and Elena gave him a hard look. "I don't see what's so bad about it. You know if we win, we get fifty bucks each and bragging rights."

"Oh, wow, fifty bucks?" Damon mocked. "Well gee, I better get right on that! It's not like I have millions just lying around in the bank waiting to be used."

"Stop being a spoil sport!" She huffed, her entire body deflating as she looked at him exasperatedly.

"No." He hit back. "You got me to agree to go out with you on Christmas Eve instead of chaining you to the bed for a little early Christmas present, you got me to agree to go with _Blondie and Witchy_, and you even got me to agree to go to one of your college friend's houses that I've never met before, but you will _not_ get me in that."

She pouted, "It'll be fun, babe, come on! And you know Megan, you met her like twice! And it's not going to be some boring party, there will be alcohol, and music, and yes, an ugly sweater contest!"

"Have fun winning on your own." Damon smirked.

She glared at him, "I'm not going to win if you don't wear yours too! They're _couples_ sweaters, Damon! Mine doesn't make sense without yours!"

"Why not?" Damon asked.

"Because without you, I'm just half a reindeer!" She shouted, standing up to show him her sweater. It was ugly—that was for sure—and dark red with the head half of a reindeer. Christmas lights were wrapped up in his antlers and he had a red nose that could all be lit up with the switch of a button.

Damon stared at her incredulously, "It looks fine without the other half!"

"What reindeer doesn't have a butt!?" She screamed angrily, holding up his sweater. It was the same red as hers, but it had the reindeer's butt half along with a Christmas tree with lights strung on it and a star that lit up as well.

"Why would I want to wear a reindeer's ass!?" He yelled, holding his arms out with half of his face covered in shaving cream.

"Because your sweater completes mine, and I swear to fucking god Damon if you don't wear the goddamn sweater I will rip your balls off and turn them into a keychain!"

"Christ, Elena…"

She stomped over to him and shoved the sweater at his chest, "Wear it. Or don't. Take your chances and see just how serious I am."

With that warning, she stormed out of their bedroom, leaving Damon stunned into silence. He glared at the sweater in his hand and threw it on the floor so he could finish shaving.

Yeah, he'd wear the damn thing, but then again he'd known he'd wear it since the second Elena came home with a package, beaming about how excited she was. But that didn't mean he was going to be happy about it.

And Elena was in a pissy mood, which arguably was his fault, but it wasn't going to make tonight any easier.

With her first semester of college down, she'd made a lot of new friends. He was excited to have her back home for the holiday break, but at the same time, he hadn't thought she'd want to drag him all over the state to visit her friends and go to their parties.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. This was the first party she'd wanted to take him to. He didn't really have a problem going with her anywhere, especially to one of her friend's parties, but he just wasn't excited that it was on Christmas eve, and it was an hour's drive away.

He had plans for tonight, and they were making him anxious enough without adding the stress of going to a party where he wouldn't be able to make sure everything was perfect for tonight. That meant that he had to trust _Jeremy_, of all people, to make sure everything was perfect for tonight. He went over it countless times with the kid to make sure he knew exactly what to do, and then even went so far as to recruit _Matt_ to come over after and make sure the kid did everything perfectly. Tonight couldn't get screwed up, even though he wasn't going to be there to do everything himself like he originally wanted.

But because Elena had flashed him her doe eyes, he agreed to go to the party and trust her idiot brother and simpleton ex-boyfriend with this.

And now, he had to suck it up.

Begrudgingly, he finished shaving his face even after nicking himself a few times in his frustration. At least he healed instantly. He snatched the sweater from the floor and held it out to see it better, eying it with disgust. At least it wasn't itchy.

He went into their room and pulled on a pair of boxers, dark jeans, and a black t-shirt before reluctantly pulling on the sweater. He looked at himself in the mirror and cringed.

He looked fucking ridiculous.

Then to see just how bad it was going to get, he found the switch on the inside of the hem around his hips and switched it on. He had to close his eyes so they weren't permanently damaged by the sight of himself in a Christmas sweater with a reindeer's ass and a light-up Christmas tree.

Elena so owed him.

He grabbed the few things he needed for tonight, namely his phone and keys, and headed downstairs. Elena was waiting at the door with her arms crossed, kicking up the corner of the rug.

She looked up when he reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly a smile spread across her face when she saw him in the sweater. She held out her arms for him and gave him a hug, "Thank you, baby, I love you for this."

He rolled his eyes and grumbled a response, and she stood next to him to line up their sweaters and turned her own lights on. She giggled happily at the sight and her smile was almost enough to make it all worth it for Damon.

Almost.

They turned off the lights to save the batteries before heading out to the car to start the drive. The party was at three since Megan knew that everyone probably wanted to get home to their families on Christmas Eve, so they had plenty of time to make it there before then.

Bonnie and Caroline were taking their own car, probably to spare them the bloodshed that would surely ensue with Damon and Caroline trapped in an enclosed space for too long.

By this point, Bonnie and Damon had actually kind of formed some sort of friendship. Over the past semester, Damon was visiting so often that it was kind of hard not to. Well, the reason for their friendship starting was actually a funny story involving a completely shitfaced Elena. Damon had convinced her to go out to a Halloween party to celebrate the one year anniversary since their last Halloween party at Whitmore, and yet again, Elena got drunk on human blood and alcohol. It was worse than last time though. This time, she hadn't snapped out of it so easily.

Damon ended up carrying her back to her room early in the morning, accidentally waking Bonnie up in the process. Caroline was visiting home for the weekend, or rather, _Stefan_, whether she'd admit that or not, so when Elena started laughing at nothing and Bonnie woke up, she was pissed at Damon. Until Elena started spewing out blood and booze like a volcano in their bathroom.

Apparently vampires can puke from intoxication.

Long story short, the two of them bonded over Elena's self induced misery.

"Not that I'm complaining," Damon began, halfway through their drive to a city just outside of Richmond.

"Off to a good start." Elena quipped, shooting him a sideways smile.

He rolled his eyes but continued, "Why did we have to wear couples sweaters? Couldn't you have just picked out two ugly ones that didn't match?"

"But that's no fun." Elena pouted. "And trust me, you got off easy. Caroline had originally been talking about group sweaters before Stefan couldn't go."

"What is the deal with my brother anyways?" Damon asked, changing the subject.

Elena opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Truth was, she had no idea what was going on between the two of them.

It was a long story, really, that all started with Stefan's first visit since he left for the summer. He ended up arriving in Mystic Falls a week later than planned, so he and Damon drove to Whitmore together to visit the girls. They had gone out barhopping all night since the college was having a themed barhop where anyone dressed in eighties gear got half priced drinks.

Caroline, twelve pumpkin martinis in, ended up spilling all of the details about her breakup with Tyler to Stefan. Nobody was really sure what happened after that since Elena and Damon were too wrapped up in each other and Bonnie was hanging out with a few of her friends that were in her folklore classes, but when Elena woke up the next day, she wasn't the only one sharing her bed with a Salvatore.

No, they didn't have sex. They weren't even naked. They were both fully clothed, but spooning.

Since then, they've been a mystery. The only thing they didn't hide was their friendship.

Needless to say, Stefan had decided to stick around for a while after that. He was over Elena by then, and actually happy for her and his brother, and he had found the closure he needed by taking time away from everything.

Finally, Elena said, "He's your brother. You ask him."

He threw back, "She's your best friend, babe."

"Yeah, and have you met her?" Elena laughed. "She's kind of psycho. If she hasn't told us what's going on yet, she's not going to."

"Fine, I'll talk to Steffie." Damon conceded.

Their relationship truly had improved in the short time one semester covered. Damon didn't want to be distant from him. He never wanted that. And with Stefan no longer pissed about Elena, they were both able to reconcile. Not without booze of course, and three girls taking care of the two wasted vampires when they showed up drunk the night after the Caroline and Stefan incident.

Bonnie, while it was true that she and Jeremy had decided to give their relationship another shot, was having a bit of trouble with the long distance thing. With Elena and Damon, it was easy, because four years was nothing compared to the endless future they had to look forward to. They had suffered through so much together that two semesters for four years not living together wasn't a big deal.

But with the two humans, things were more complicated. Jeremy was still in high school. He was two years younger than Bonnie, and she was a college student. She was building her future career and making a name for herself while Jeremy was still drifting through high school with barely passing grades. Their priorities were different, and that was ultimately what was making their relationship suffer.

Elena hoped that the two of them could work things out. They were two of the most important people in her life, and of course she wanted them to be happy with each other, but if they weren't, then they shouldn't drag it on until things got messy. She would be there if either of them needed her, but frankly, it wasn't her business to tell them how to maintain their relationship.

The drive really flew by, and Damon and Elena arrived at the small townhouse promptly at three o'clock. They decided to stop for a bottle of rum and eggnog beforehand, just to thank Megan for inviting them. After all, she didn't know what she was truly doing by inviting two vampires into her home. The least they could do was supply some booze.

She answered the door with a big smile, "Elena, Damon! Glad you could make it!"

She stepped aside to let them in, but neither of them budged knowing they needed the words to be spoken. Elena grinned, "Hey, Megan! Thanks for inviting us! We actually brought you some alcohol, you know, figuring the least we could do was bring some spiked eggnog to the party."

She reached for the two bottles and said, "Oh, thanks! This works out great, I was just thinking that I might need to run to the store to get some more eggnog! Well come on in and get a drink, there's plenty to go around."

This time, they both walked in without a problem. They found a bunch of people Elena knew from college already inside, including Caroline and Bonnie, wandering through the house and mingling in every room.

There wasn't a single person that didn't have a drink in hand, and soon Damon and Elena were included. Elena followed some of her friends back into the living room from where they were standing in the kitchen, and Damon sent a quick text to Jeremy to make sure he was getting everything ready before joining them.

Their sweaters were a hit. Damon couldn't tell you how many times he had to stand next to Elena to make the damn things line up, and he felt like a walking Christmas tree with all of the lights. Hell, he kind of was.

And, it wasn't so bad getting to meet all of Elena's friends. These were the people that she spent all of her time with; damn right he wanted to get to know them. Megan lived with her roommate, Crystal, but Elena was better friends with Megan. Then there was Liam, some pre-med douche(if you asked Damon) that had eyes that lingered just a second too long on his girl. Then there was Aaron, some mousy looking kid with sad eyes that Damon didn't even try to feel worried about. There were a few more girls to meet and a couple more guys, which Damon was more than happy to meet because it meant they got to put a face to the title 'boyfriend.'

Though with any luck, that title would be changing tonight.

The ugly sweater competition then began, and Elena dragged him to the front of the room to line up with all of the other guests competing. They each presented their sweaters, and he swore that Elena had basically de-fanged him and taken his masculinity all in one fell swoop. There he was, a big, bad, evil, murderous vampire that could kill the entire room of guests in less than a minute wearing a light up Christmas sweater with a reindeer's ass on it and holding a red solo cup filled with eggnog while at a Christmas party.

And the worst part? They won the contest.

The party didn't last much longer after that though because it started snowing. There was already a good foot on the ground, and with more only piling up, everyone wanted to get a head start on their drive home.

After checking his texts and seeing both Jeremy and Matt telling him that everything was perfect, he began driving home. Never before had he been as nervous as he was. His hands were sweating on the wheel. All he could think about were all the ways in which it could go wrong and Elena would say no.

He thought she might have even gotten suspicious that something was going on when he kept zoning out and she'd have to repeat herself, but she forgot all about it when he flipped on the radio to Christmas music and she started singing along.

Christmas was her favorite holiday. It always had been. This year, since there was no impending doom hanging over their heads, everyone went all out. Damon took her to the town square for the annual Christmas tree lighting where they drank hot chocolate and bought candy canes for charity to hang on the tree. He took her ice skating, they went Christmas shopping, and they even went sledding. On the days that the weather was really bad and there was no point in leaving the house, they locked themselves inside either the boarding house or her and Jeremy's house and baked Christmas cookies, decorated a real tree, and hung up garland and decorations all throughout the house. Thanks to Elena's sneakiness, there were just a few more memories attached to that strand of mistletoe hanging above the entrance to her kitchen.

It really had been the perfect holiday season, and it wasn't even at its peak yet.

The sun had set long ago when Damon pulled up to the boarding house and parked his car. He and Elena stepped out into the blizzard raining down upon Mystic Falls, and she scurried for the front door to evade the bone chilling temperature. Except she froze when she saw the giant red ribbon tied in a bow around the door knob.

"What's this?" She asked curiously, turning to him with a small smile.

Damon shrugged, "Why don't you open the door and find out?"

She was confused, he could tell, but her heart was also hammering about as fast as a human's with the anticipation. She pushed open the door and stepped inside, seeing that the living room was dark except for a small fire in the fireplace. The ribbon that was tied to the door appeared to lead further into the house, and when Damon was inside with her, he shut the door behind them so the ribbon went back to hanging in the air.

Elena looked at him with her brows drawn together and he smiled, "Follow it."

"When did you do all of this?" She asked as her heeled boots clicked on the wooden floors.

He blew out a laugh, "Not me, kitten. Your brother." She whirled around to look at him then and he rolled his eyes, "It's not important, just keep going."

She shook her head and trailed her hand over the ribbon until she came to a stop at the first note attached to it. They were standing just inside of the foyer, and she lifted it from the ribbon to open it and read it aloud.

"_This house holds so many memories for us that I thought it only fitting to include it in your Christmas present. I want to remind you of every last one of them, starting in the foyer._"

She looked at Damon and he started, "Right here was where you stormed into my house like a bat straight out of hell countless times just to yell at me or demand something, assuming I wasn't already carrying you over the threshold because you had done something stupid and I was saving you."

"That only happened three times." She pointed out playfully.

He smirked, "Which is three too many times. It was right here that we had one of our first conversations, and where I would walk through to find you helping yourself to anything in this place. It was here that we called each other children because you wouldn't invite me into my own home, and it was here that I got to scare the living hell out of you with my crow."

"That wasn't funny, by the way." She grinned, earning one from him too.

"Maybe not to you. But keep going." He motioned down the hall to where the ribbon continued, and she stopped at the note tied around the railing to the stairs.

"_The stairs hold a lot of memories for me that you may not know about, but I intend on filling you in on them now. This house is yours as much as it is mine, and you deserve to know everything that holds importance to me._"

When she looked up at him again, he said, "These stairs were where I promised to myself and to Stefan that I would do whatever it took to keep you safe, even if that meant you hated me for it. This was where we walked down, arm in arm, to your eighteenth birthday party when I knew the last thing you wanted to do was go to it. And right here was the location of quite a few sexual acts because we couldn't keep our paws off each other long enough to get to our room."

She laughed softly and seeing that he was done, she started up the stairs to find the next note. It was attached to the knob on their bedroom.

"_Our bedroom…more sexual memories than anything, but I'm sure I can push those aside for the moment to remind you of the other significant events._"

Damon began, "It was in our room that you held me when I was dying from a werewolf bite. Delirious and a breath away from the vast unknown, you laid with me and kissed me even after I bit you and pathetically confessed my love to a girl I knew I'd never have a chance with. Just goes to show I'm not always right, huh?" She smirked a little and he continued, "It was behind those doors that you told me you love me for the first time, and it was where we made love for the first time. There were a lot of firsts in here for us, and with any luck we'll have a bunch more firsts in here throughout our lives together."

Elena couldn't stop herself from giving him a quick kiss before moving on to the next stop on the ribbon. She had no idea what was going on, but she was excited, nonetheless. If Damon was reminding her of their entire relationship, then she knew something big was going to happen at the end. Maybe he would ask her to move in with him. Or maybe he'd just kiss her in front of the fire and gigantic tree they bought and decorated, then make love to her on the floor as they celebrated Christmas together.

The next was attached to Stefan's door, and while no longer a sore topic between them, she was still a little confused as to why there was a note there. She read it before she asked any questions.

"_I know what you're thinking. Stefan is the last thing that needs to be brought up right now. But actually, you're wrong. Because Stefan was a big part of your life, and without him we probably never would have been together._"

"How do you figure that?" Elena asked incredulously. "We met first, Damon, you would have still been in my life at some point…"

He shrugged, "But Stefan was the reason I was even in Mystic Falls. Stefan was the reason that I did everything I could to get you alone, at first. Without your relationship with him, we wouldn't be here today."

She smiled softly, "Can I add something to this place?"

He frowned a little but nodded, and she confessed, "Stefan's room was where I fell in love with you. You gave me back my necklace on my eighteenth birthday, even though I knew how much it hurt you to do so, and seeing how selfless you could be…I loved you in that moment."

"That was when you fell in love with me?" He asked incredulously. "Hell, if I had known all it would take was that rusty old thing I would have given it to you way sooner!"

She giggled, "Okay, on to the next place!" Chuckling, he led her to a large window at the end of the hall and jumped through it, down into the snow. Elena looked down at him from the window, "My boots will get ruined in the snow!"

He rolled his eyes, "Just jump down! I'll buy you ten more pairs to replace them!"

Laughing to herself, she leapt down next to him and noticed the ribbon tied to a tree with another note. She plucked it from the ribbon and read, "_The woods…well, I'm sure you can imagine why this place is important to us. It gave us our start—our real start._"

Damon added, "Back in those woods is where you turned your humanity back on, and where our relationship officially began. Well, the good parts where there's no danger around us and everyone has their humanity on."

"And what a peaceful six months it's been." Elena mused.

He nodded, "Ready for the next place?"

"Sheesh, how many more are there?" Elena said playfully.

He smirked, "Just one more, but it's arguably the most important."

They followed the ribbon from the tree back into the house and to the living room. It was tied to a green box with a matching red bow on top that sat on the coffee table.

"The final present, huh? No note?"

"Why don't you open the box and find out, wise guy?"

She rolled her eyes and took the top off of the box, finding a note and one of the universal remotes they have around the house. Instead of questioning him like she wanted to, she opened the note.

"_Last but not least, we have the fireplace. Is it even possible to name every memory we have here together? For you, I'll try._"

Damon continued, "I don't think I can count on both hands the number of times I've been sitting in here with a drink and you've appeared practically out of thin air to come find me. And every time, the only thing going through my mind was how am I going to help this girl now? Who would have guessed that just a few months later, you'd be the one telling me that everything was going to be okay and that we'd let Stefan go if we had to. This is where you transitioned, and where we've spent countless days laying around and doing nothing, which were arguably some of our best moments."

"They were, weren't they?" Elena agreed with a smile. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "So the remote?"

"Ah, yes, the remote." Damon smirked. He motioned towards the fireplace which was the only source of light, leaving the rest of the room completely dark. "Press the 'on' button and see what happens."

Elena didn't know what she was expecting. This was all so over the top, but with Damon, she'd be surprised if he didn't go all out for her. And it was their first Christmas together after everything that happened, so it would have been shocking if he did anything less. Elena had her present for him all wrapped up and placed under the fifteen foot tall tree that stood to the left of the fire place, and she wondered if when she turned all the lights on she was going to see something ridiculous like hundreds of presents all around it.

Damon pulled the small black box he was carrying out of his pocket and stepped behind her as she clicked the button. The entire room lit up, revealing that it was completely decorated in Christmas lights. They were draped from the chandeliers above, hanging over the railing to the upstairs, bordering every doorway, window, and the fireplace, and the huge tree came to life with all of its sparkling ornaments, garland, and the star on top.

But none of that was what Elena was staring at, her mouth hanging open with no hope of closing.

On top of the mantle above the fireplace, there were giant light up letters wrapped in even more lights that spelled out 'Will you marry me?'

Elena whirled around to look at Damon, intent on asking what the hell was going on, when she saw him down on one knee behind her with a shiny diamond ring in the box he held out to her.

"Damon…?" She breathed, her eyes already beginning to water.

He smiled softly up at her, "Do you want me to give you the carefully planned out speech about how much I love you, or do you want to skip ahead to the yes part?"

Slowly, a wide, bright smile spread across her face, her watery eyes lighting up brighter than the sun. She swallowed the lump of emotions in her throat and nodded, "The yes part, definitely."

Dropping to her knees in front of him, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him. With that one kiss, more words were spoken than if they had tried to have a real conversation. Promises of love, commitment, and happiness were made, all of which were guaranteed to be kept with the deep bond they shared.

Elena still couldn't quite believe what was happening, that Damon had actually just proposed to her, and even more life changing, she'd just said yes. Hell, she hadn't even had to think about it, really. Sure, she never imagined herself getting married at the young age of nineteen, or even engaged, but that was before she learned about the supernatural. That was before life taught her that there's a whole lot more to value about the simplicity of a beating heart or the breath. In the past few years, she'd learned not to think too hard about the future, because she was fighting for her life in the present. What good was imagining what could be when the here and now was filled with life threatening obstacles at every turn?

Well, then she died, and her future seemed a whole lot more bleak.

Until Damon came into the picture.

He made her dream of having a future again. He made her glad to be alive. He even made her feel alive.

So did she have to think about marrying her soulmate at such a young age?

Hell no.

She didn't even blink.

Why would she when she already knew that she was going to spend every last second of her life with Damon?

With her hands shaking slightly from surprise and excitement, Elena held out her left hand as Damon slid the antique looking silver band onto her finger. She wiggled her fingers in the light and watched as the solitary diamond sparkled. It wasn't anything too big and gaudy, but with Damon's wealth, it wasn't tiny either. The band had an intricate design carved into it with two tiny diamonds acting as accents to the swirling pattern. It truly was exactly her style.

She looked up at him to see him smiling wider than she'd ever seen as he watched her reaction to everything. A few tears had escaped her eyes, and as she brushed them away she said, "Damon, it's beautiful…"

He reached for her hand to get a better look at how his mother's ring would look on her finger and said, "Glad you like it, kitten."

"Like it? I love it! Where did you even get it? I've looked at engagement rings before no thanks to Caroline, and I've never seen anything like this…" She shook her head, staring down at the ring in awe as Damon rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"It was my mother's." He answered simply, as if it wasn't a big deal that he had just given her something that belonged to his mom—the first person that he ever loved and loved him right back.

Her mouth dropped open for the second time that night, but she promptly shut it and wiped away a few more tears as she straddled Damon's lap. She dropped her forehead to his, her hands tangling lightly in his hair while his came to rest on her hips.

"Thank you." She whispered, knowing that was all she needed to say for him to know how much she truly appreciated the gesture.

He smiled, "Don't thank me, Elena. Marry me."

She let out a small laugh before joining their lips in a passionate kiss.

That was one thing that she could do.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena stirred at the feeling of the bed shifting next to her, and her smile at the thought of her partner returning to bed deepened when she felt his arm move around her waist. She mewled a soft noise of arousal from sleep as she turned over, her eyes still glued shut from being asleep, and she hummed, "Morning, baby."

She heard him stifle an oddly girlish sounding laugh before a voice that definitely wasn't his mocked, "_Morning, baby_…"

Elena's eyes flew open to the sight of Bonnie lying next to her in bed, her arm around her waist, and then she heard a popping noise followed by Caroline shouting, "HAPPY ENGAGEMENT ELENA!"

Confetti rained down over the bed as Elena laughed and pushed herself to a seated position to watch her two best friends fawn over her engagement. Bonnie grinned widely, "Holy shit, Elena, has it hit you yet that you're getting married?"

"To _Damon_, no less!?" Caroline added cheerily, her smile as bright as her blonde hair.

She laughed, "It's been a week, guys. I have plenty of time for it to hit me."

And what a week it had been. Christmas day had been the best holiday Elena had ever had. The night that Damon had proposed had been spent making love on the floor in front of the fireplace because neither of them could muster up the desire to flash upstairs to the bedroom, and by the time they had finished rolling around beneath a blanket, they were too tired to do anything but pass out in each other's arms. The next morning had been spent in pretty much the same way, including one hell of a naked breakfast. They exchanged personal gifts by themselves as opposed to waiting until everyone gathered later, that way everything was all the more intimate. Elena had bought Damon a couple bottles of his favorite bourbon and some replacements for the wine she had stolen over the years.

Turns out, it was kind of hard to buy a gift for someone that already has everything. Well, that, and it was _Damon_. He had to be the hardest person to shop for, ever. Aside from the sexy Santa lingerie she dressed in for him, the only other thing she could think to get him was some more designer clothes to make up for all of the shirts she'd ripped off of him over the past year or so.

He said he was more than happy with what she got him, but she knew next year she'd have to find something better.

Since his proposal was his gift to her, the only thing he gave her on Christmas morning was some of her favorite chocolates from Italy that he bought her for her birthday over the summer.

They spent that morning laying around, watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate laced with blood—not the most appealing sounding drink, but to a vampire, mixing blood and chocolate was infinitely delicious. By the time the afternoon rolled around, they managed to peel themselves away from each other long enough to get dressed and head to Elena's house to meet up with everyone else, who had all been in on their impending engagement. It all went by in a blur of congratulations and enthusing about a wedding Elena hadn't even thought of yet.

They next few days between Christmas and New Years were spent holed up in the boarding house. They were engaged, and they wanted to make sure they celebrated properly, after all. And for two vampires with insatiable libidos and nearly infinite stamina, that celebratory period lasted days rather than hours.

New Years came and went with a bang, quite literally, as they didn't just kiss to start off the new year, but they had drunk sex in a closet at another one of Elena's friend's parties near Whitmore. Fireworks were going off in the backyard and noise makers were squealing as the clock struck midnight, but the only thing they could focus on was each other.

That was the night before last, and now it seemed her best friends finally decided to crash her lockdown with Damon to pull her back into the land of the living.

Caroline jumped onto the bed with her and Bonnie and beamed, "God, I'm so jealous! I always thought I was going to be the first out of us three to get married!"

"So did we." Elena and Bonnie said at the same time, causing them to all laugh loudly.

Elena then started, "So, what's with the wake up call? I can only assume this means you plan to steal me away to plan the wedding all day, right?"

Bonnie tucked a strand of her newly short brown hair behind her ear and shrugged a little, "Maybe a tiny bit."

Caroline added, "You have to start planning it at some point, Elena, so why not now? Damon mentioned this morning that he didn't want a long engagement, so we've got work to do!"

"He did?" Elena asked, kind of surprised. Well, she wasn't really surprised, but she just hadn't expected Damon to voice any of his opinions about the wedding to anyone other than her, or maybe Stefan.

Caroline smirked knowingly, "Well, I may have had to do a little torture of my own to get him to confess a little about what he wanted the wedding to be."

Elena laughed, "I don't even want to know what that means."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "All you need to know is that we will be helping you plan this wedding every step of the way, even if we have to melt some brains and use vervain."

"How kind!" Elena mock swooned, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.

"Shut up!" Caroline giggled. "As much as it pains me to say this, Damon deserves to have the perfect wedding too, so we have to take into account his opinions. Otherwise I might just make him wear a cream colored suit, which I know he'd hate."

Shaking her head, Elena asked, "So what's on the agenda for today?"

Bonnie answered her, pulling a book out of the bag Caroline had brought, "Remember this?"

Elena's eyes widened when she saw the scrapbook with the words "Our Dream Weddings' written across the front in sparkly letter stickers. "Oh my god!" She squealed excitedly. "You still have this!?"

She grabbed the book and flipped it open, landing somewhere in Caroline's section. When they were in the sixth grade, they had planned out their perfect weddings down to every last flower arrangement. Granted, now Elena didn't want anything that she wanted back then, like to ride down the aisle on a unicorn or to have a six foot tall chocolate fountain, but it was the gesture that mattered.

Caroline flipped the book to one of Elena's pages and said, "I know we probably won't be using any of the stuff we planned back then, but when I told my mom you were engaged she pulled this out of the closet for us to look at. I figured it would be a good laugh, if nothing else."

"It's perfect!" Elena smiled sweetly. She held out her arms for them to hug her and as they did, she added, "You two are the best, seriously."

"We know." Bonnie said smugly, pulling away. "Now, go get dressed, and not in anything complicated! We're going wedding dress shopping."

Elena's face lit up at the idea and she flashed out of bed and into clothes before either of them could blink, "Ready!"

Her two friends shared a look before they all went downstairs to pile into Caroline's car. The boutique they were going to was an hour away but Caroline claimed it was worth it, because it was the biggest one in all of Virginia. At least they had a long car ride to talk about every other detail of the wedding Elena wanted, and Caroline didn't hesitate to write everything down, even while driving.

* * *

"I still can't believe my brother's getting married." Stefan mused from the passenger seat of Damon's Camaro. "I mean, even when we were human I never imagined you getting married. I think this is actually the first time I've ever pictured it."

Damon smirked, "Well, you can hardly blame me. I mean, when we were human, if I wasn't at a brothel I was trying to steal the innocence of the local girls."

Stefan snorted, "They all melted at your feet, too. It was kind of hilarious, actually."

He shook his head and bit back a laugh, "Century and a half later, and nothing's changed."

"Well, I wouldn't say nothing." Stefan pointed out. "You're down to one woman."

A genuine smile creeping across his face, Damon said more to himself, "And what a woman she is…"

Stefan took a moment to really look at his brother. To see the love-struck, dopey grin on his face and the way his eyes looked down away from the road as he thought of Elena. He couldn't blame him either, because he of all people knew what it was like to love and be loved by Elena Gilbert. But then again, maybe he really didn't know what it was like, because he didn't think their love even came close to what his ex-girlfriend and his brother had.

But most importantly, that was okay.

He was over Elena now, for good. She was his epic love, and always would be, but his feelings had moved on just as hers had. He wasn't happy about it, at first. He didn't want to lose Elena, only to have to watch her gallivant around his house with his brother. But as time passed, and he only saw their relationship grow stronger, he began to realize that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

Because once he accepted that they were over, he got his brother back.

Elena awakened a part of Damon that Stefan thought was long dead. His human side. The side of him that was a brother, a mother's son, a friend, a boyfriend—or rather, fiancé, and an all around good person. And that side of him was what brought them back together from decades of hatred and anger. He actually had a brother again, and that was the best gift of all.

So maybe Elena became someone that he loved more than anything. She didn't necessarily come into his life to be his soulmate. She came into his life to bring him back together with his brother.

And because of that, he was okay with seeing them so in love. He wanted his brother to be happy, especially after all the misery life dealt him, and if Elena made him happy, then Stefan was the last person that would stand in his way.

"She is." Stefan agreed, smiling slightly to himself. "Which I guess is why you're marrying her."

Damon raised a brow, "Jealous that I get to have a wedding before you?"

He laughed, "No, Damon, just surprised. A good surprised, but surprised."

Damon paused for a moment before saying, "You know I gave her Mom's ring, right?"

Stefan looked at him incredulously, "You think I didn't realize she was wearing it when I saw her? We spent so much time listening to her tell us bedtime stories while holding her hands that I had every last groove memorized. I thought she had been buried with it on, to be honest."

"Nope." Damon stated. "I was seventeen when she got sick, therefore Giuseppe had been looking to marry me off soon. Of course, that was before I went on my rebel streak, but Mom gave it to me to give to the girl I loved. Told me not to waste it on someone who wouldn't make me happy."

There hadn't been many times in his life that Damon had left Stefan speechless, but this was one of them. To think that the man next to him once promised to make his life a living hell was now sharing that he saved their mother's engagement ring for 150 years because he was waiting for the right girl to come along.

"What about Katherine?" Stefan asked curiously. "You never thought of giving it to her?"

Damon snorted, as if the thought was ludicrous, "Have you ever met Katherine, brother? She wasn't marriage material, even back when I loved her. She was the kind of girl that you fuck and follow to the ends of the earth for the ride of your life. I never even thought of giving it to her. But Elena…the first time I thought about the ring was when I told her I loved her, then compelled it away. I didn't actually try to look for it until she transitioned and we got together."

A beat of silence passed before Stefan said, "You know, I never even thought about marriage once I died. Not even with Elena, really…I just didn't think it had a point, you know?"

"Then you clearly never even brought it up." Damon said matter of factly. "If you would have seen the look on Elena's face whenever anyone talks about marriage…anyone could tell how much she wants it. She's the most human vampire there is, Steffie. And I plan on making sure she gets everything she wants that's in the realm of possibilities."

Again, Stefan couldn't help but notice how different his brother was now. Definitely not an irredeemable monster, that was for sure.

They pulled up outside of the Grill and headed inside towards the bar. They were on a silent agreement that that was enough brotherly bonding for the day, so all that was left to do was drink and tease each other like true brothers.

And drink they did.

Two bottles of bourbon in, the room was slightly spinning and the filter between their brains and mouths no longer existed.

"I mean, what the hell was that?" Damon slurred, sloppily motioning towards the curvy blonde bartender that Stefan just denied the advances of. "She's hot, what's the hold up? Don't tell me you're pledging abstinence now, brother, because I'd say you're far too late for the whole 'virgin 'til marriage' thing."

Stefan made a face before swallowing what was left of his drink, "If anyone's too late for that, it's you."

Damon smirked, about to agree, before realizing that Stefan was trying to change the subject. "Ah-ah, no deflecting. I bet this has something to do with another, slightly less curvy blonde bombshell, doesn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Stefan waved him off.

He slowly replied, "I'm talking about crazy, bossy, and the spitting image of Barbie. Come on, Stef, spill. Don't tell me you're just friends either!"

"But we are!" He argued unconvincingly. The bartender dropped off another bottle of bourbon for them to share and Stefan ripped open the top, pouring a healthy amount in both of their glasses.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Fine, then tell me what you want it to be. I've seen the way you look at her, like there's something beneath her clothes you just can't wait to get your hands on. I've been there, done that, and let me just say that it's not as bad as you'd think for an insecure teenager."

Stefan glared at him, "That was when she was human. She's different as a vampire and you know it."

"Yeah, now she's like an insecure crack head." Damon mumbled under his breath, but Stefan caught it anyways.

"You're just pissed you had to compel her into sleeping with you." Stefan said snidely.

"Hey!" Damon defended angrily. "I did not compel her into having sex with me. I'm a lot of things, but a rapist isn't one of them. All I did was compel her not to be afraid of my vampire side and let me feed from her. Perfectly harmless."

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, 'harmless'…I can't imagine the kind of psychological damage incurred just from sleeping with you, let alone all of the compulsion that fried her brain. Was there really any surprise she was insecure?"

Smirking widely, Damon said, "Congrats, brother. You just told me all I needed to know about how much you want Caroline. And while she's definitely not my cup of tea, if you're both into it, so be it. Hell, bring her into the family for all I care. Give Elena a sister through marriage."

"Okay, now you're getting ahead of yourself. We haven't even kissed yet." Stefan admitted, not realizing what he was saying until the words were already spilling out.

"Yet." Damon repeated. "As in, you want it to happen and it will one day, but you being the noble gentleman, are trying to figure out how to do so as opposed to just going in for the kill like any other guy would do."

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. So I want her, big deal. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. In the mean time, you just focus on your wedding."

"What do you think I'm doing right now?" Damon asked incredulously, holding his hands out. "I'm just trying to make sure there's no sloppy sex at my wedding between anyone but me and my future wife."

"Pleasant." Stefan joked, interrupting him.

Damon snickered then said, "So as long as you can promise that my best man and Elena's maid of honor won't be hooking up in any closets or coatrooms, I think it'll all go swimmingly."

Fighting a smile at the not so subtle way Damon was asking him to be his best man, Stefan feigned innocence, "Well, I wouldn't put it past Jeremy to pull Bonnie aside. The kid knows how to get in trouble, that's for sure."

Groaning, Damon asked, "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"Say what?" He smirked.

Damon shot him a glare before sighing dramatically, "Will you be my best man?"

"Of course." Stefan grinned, clapping a hand on Damon's shoulder. "Besides, if I didn't do it, who would?"

Sending him another dirty look, Damon grumbled, "There's headstone in the cemetery looking a lot more appealing than you right now, but somehow I don't think dragging around a big rock with my friend's birthday carved into it incorrectly will go over well with the bride."

"Not to mention how sad it would be."

"Dick."

* * *

"Hi, we have an appointment today under the name Gilbert." Caroline greeted the front desk worker of the boutique—or warehouse would have been more accurate. It was seriously huge, with ceilings so high that Elena had to use her vampire sight to see the murals painted on it. Greek columns—or maybe they were roman, decorated the all cream and gold colored décor, and as the receptionist guided the three girls back through the halls towards their appointment, Elena marveled at the racks upon racks of wedding dresses surrounding them.

For the first time, she wondered what kind of dress Damon would want to see her in. She had her own visions for the wedding, of course, and she was sure he'd be happy with whatever she chose, but he should have a say in some things, right? He'd probably want her in a more fitted dress, but nothing that revealed too much. Would he like lace or satin? Gems and crystals or beading? Strapless or halter?

Luckily Elena wasn't left to panic over her own thoughts much longer as a woman approached them and introduced herself as Kristen, explaining that she'd be helping them out today.

"So what kind of dress were you thinking about today?" She asked Elena after she told her she was the bride.

Elena relayed everything she thought would be perfect to the woman, figuring that when she found the dress, she'd know. "I was thinking something more fitted, no giant puffy princess dresses or anything like that. And maybe lacy, with a little bit of sparkle? I have no idea what my fiancé would want to see me in so just try everything, I guess."

"Any budget we should keep in mind?" She asked in response.

Elena smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have a rich fiancé, "Nope."

Kristen smiled warmly, "Alright, if you'll come with me I'll pull some dresses for you to try on."

Elena followed her to a private room where she changed out of her clothes and into a silk robe they had waiting. She wasn't there long before Kristen returned with several dresses for her to try on.

She walked back out to where Caroline and Bonnie were waiting, each of them with a glass of champagne in their hand thanks to Caroline's compulsion. They gushed over the dress from the second they spotted her walking out, and Elena couldn't help but beam at the simple fact that she was trying on dresses for her wedding.

Stepping up onto the platform, she smoothed the ruched fabric down over her abdomen as Kristen adjusted the mermaid skirt so it flared out properly. She looked at her two friends in the mirror, "What do you think? And don't hold back either."

Bonnie smiled, "It's pretty, Elena."

Caroline agreed, "Yeah, but I don't think it's you. I mean, you mentioned an outdoor wedding in the fall, and this just screams cathedral."

Elena tilted her head to the side as she contemplated the dress before nodding, "This is definitely not the right one. I don't like all of the ruching, I don't think it flatters me that well."

"Okay, no problem. Let's head back and get you in something else."

Elena snagged the glass of champagne that the girls had waiting for her before following Kristen back to the room. This time when she returned, she saw Caroline and Bonnie scarfing down some wedding cake samples and couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't I the one that's supposed to be trying all the cake?" She asked teasingly as she stepped up onto the platform once again.

"Sorry!" Caroline mumbled, covering her mouthful of chocolate cake with her hand. She swallowed then enthused, "Oh my god, that dress is gorgeous!"

Elena laughed, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a beaded mermaid dress with a plunging neckline and open back, and the bottom skirt was chiffon with glitter embedded throughout.

"I knew you would like this. You picked it out, didn't you?"

Caroline smiled guiltily, "Hey, just because I'm not getting married doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through you!"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "It is gorgeous, Elena, but again, it's Caroline's style. Besides, you look like you can barely move in it."

"A small price to pay for the sake of fashion!" Caroline chimed in.

Kristen then informed them that she was going to go look for some more dresses, then promptly left.

Elena stepped down from the platform very carefully, unintentionally proving Bonnie's point when she could hardly move her legs enough to walk. She sat down in the open chair and grabbed a small plate of cake samples to try, saying, "Care, I can also see my nipples popping out if I move a certain way because I can't wear a bra with this dress. It's a no."

She huffed, "Fine, fine. This would be so much easier if you had an idea of what you wanted your wedding to be though."

Elena shrugged, "That's your fault, not mine. You bombarded me with a surprise wedding dress shopping spree before I even started thinking about planning the wedding."

"Well you have to have some kind of idea, right?" Bonnie asked. "It's not like you never considered marrying Damon before he proposed."

"No, but I kind of imagined the whole saying 'I do' part more than what everything around us looked like, you know? We're not really a typical couple, but this wedding will be one human thing that we get to do together." Elena explained.

"Well why can't you do human things together?" Caroline blurted out, not quite understanding that it wasn't so much they won't do them, but physically can't.

Luckily Bonnie understood and said, "I think she meant things that are exclusive to humans and those that are alive."

Elena agreed, "Like growing old, and having kids. I mean, I guess the more the idea settles, the happier I am that I won't grow old, wrinkly, and ugly, and I'll get to spend a literal forever with Damon, but kids…I always wanted kids."

"That doesn't mean you can't still have them." Caroline pointed out gently. "They may not biologically be yours, but you can adopt. I don't know much about ethics, but I'm pretty sure a kid would be better off having two loving vampires raising them than they would staying an orphan in the foster system."

She nodded, "I know, and honestly, we'll probably end up doing that at some point in our lives. I have never really talked to Damon about children, because it wasn't an option for us. So if he tells me he doesn't want kids, it's not a big deal, we just won't adopt. I always wanted to be pregnant though, but it's just something I have to learn to live without. It's really not that big of a deal."

Except all of them knew that it was a big deal, at least to Elena. She would be devastated if she never got to be a mother, and may god have mercy on Damon's soul if he ever denied Elena children, because Caroline and Bonnie would hunt him down and castrate him faster than he could blink.

However, today was supposed to be a happy one, so they both let it go and Elena followed Kristen back into the room to try on more dresses.

Maybe in time, children really wouldn't be such a big deal to her.

When she returned, she was in an all lace strapless mermaid with a gem studded belt wrapped around her waist. They were getting closer; she knew that just by the way she was almost glowing in the mirror, but it still wasn't quite right. Something was missing still, but she had confidence that she'd find the perfect dress, even if it wasn't today.

After all, they still had nine or ten months until they reached the season in which their Elena wanted their wedding in.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are we going, Damon?" Elena laughed as her fiancé led her blindly towards their destination. Literally—she was blindfolded, holding her arms out in front of her so she didn't run into anything, while Damon pushed her forward by the shoulders.

"I told you, it's a secret. I wanted to surprise you tonight, and if you can see, then you're going to ruin the surprise." He explained, then quickly added, "There's a step in front of you, just one."

As she climbed the step, Damon pulled open the door to the Grill and nudged a pouting Elena inside. She really did hate it when she had to wait for things; he of all people would know considering he's the only one that's ever enjoyed pushing her buttons.

"Okay, just one more second." He said, looking around the restaurant at all of the familiar faces lined up. Caroline was decked out in a neon glow-in-the-dark party hat with a noise maker poised at her mouth, ready to be blown. Bonnie and Jeremy were wearing matching grins as they glued their eyes to Elena, about to burst at the seams with the words they were about to scream. Stefan decided against the party hat in favor of some glow stick necklaces hanging around his neck—the theme for the party was 'Lighting Up the Night,' whatever the hell that meant. Damon left all of the planning to Caroline, as if she'd have it any other way. Despite being in the process of planning his own wedding, she was all too eager to take on the extra task of a surprise party for Elena's twentieth birthday.

He recognized countless other faces strewn throughout the crowd. Matt, Liz, Bonnie's parents, Megan, Liam, and a ton of Elena's friends from high school and college that he didn't bother to put a name to the face. They didn't really matter to him, and frankly, they wouldn't matter to Elena either in a few years.

After making sure everyone was ready, Damon said, "Okay, we're here."

He untied her blindfold, and as soon as he dropped it everyone screamed, "SURPRISE!"

Elena just about jumped out of her skin, despite being a vampire that by all means should have been able to tell that she was in a room full of people. Once she realized what was going on, she laughed loudly at her own reaction while everybody at once began wishing her happy birthday.

She looked to Damon with a knowing smile, and all he could do in response was send her a wink before she was whisked away into the crowd to begin celebrating properly—with shots.

Megan, Bonnie, Caroline, and a few other girls from college lead her to the bar where the bartender was already compelled and serving alcohol by the gallons. He had several shot glasses already lined up, and judging by the salt shakers and limes they were filled with tequila.

Elena threw back her shot, and as soon as she set the glass down glowing bracelets and necklaces were being fastened around her. She laughed as Bonnie cursed the plastic connector for taking forever to latch, then asked, "You all seriously planned an entire surprise party for my birthday?"

Caroline looked at her like she had gone insane, "Of course we did! Granted, it's not quite your twenty first, but we figured what the hell, right? I mean, you only turn twenty once!"

"Did Damon have anything to do with this?" She asked curiously.

Bonnie snorted a laugh and Caroline replied, "Not as much as you might think. All he did was suggest we throw you a surprise party, and from there everything kind of spiraled into this."

Megan added, "Besides, everyone likes a good surprise birthday party, especially when there's an open bar, good music, and a dance floor we can use to occupy ourselves all night!"

Elena looked down at the sparkly purple dress she was wearing and mused, "At least the whole slutty dress thing makes more sense now. When Damon gave it to me to wear, I was worried for a second that he was taking me to some kind of whore house."

Caroline smirked, "Nope. Just your slutty birthday party! Now come on and do some shots with me so we can get our inner hoe on over on the dance floor!"

Rolling her eyes, Elena obliged and down several more shots with the girls—she wasn't keeping count. The Grill had really been transformed into an entirely different space tonight. All of the lights in the back on the dance floor had been switched out to black lights, making everything glow brightly in the darkness. Towards the bar and some of the sitting areas, the lighting was normal, but dimmed down. On each table sat a sparkly centerpiece with glow sticks and neon colors, and a banner hung across the ceiling that read 'Happy 20th Elena!" in bright glowing pink letters.

It was everything a college student's birthday party should be, and Elena wouldn't have it any other way.

The human girls quickly began getting tipsy, inspiring them to demand some dancing. Caroline and Elena each snagged a bottle of their own to take to the dance floor with them, and soon they were swaying their bodies to the beat while drinking and laughing at each other.

Damon watched her from across the room, idly wondering when he should cut in for some dirty dancing with the birthday girl. She looked like sin in that dress, every inch of fabric hugging her curves perfectly while showing off just the right amount of skin for the club scene. And don't even get him starting on her heels…he had a particularly kinky fantasy regarding the thigh high lace up boots wrapped around his waist.

Stefan suddenly appeared at his side, saying, "It's official. Caroline is drunk off her ass, so I'd be willing to bet Elena's right behind her."

Damon chuckled, watching as his girl drunkenly puckered her lips at one of her friends while they snapped photos with a polaroid camera. "Oh yeah, Elena won't be sober until morning. She has stages of being drunk, and right now, she's in the fifth. Pretending she knows what's going on when in reality she's got no fucking clue."

The two brothers looked back towards Elena just in time to watch her grab Caroline's wrist in attempt to drag her somewhere, but she just kept spinning in circles trying to make sense of the room.

Laughing, Stefan shook his head, "At least she won't have a hangover." Damon flicked his brows upwards in agreement, then Stefan asked, "Did you have enough time today for Elena's present?"

Damon snorted, "The guy charged me way too much, but yeah, I got it."

"You are _so_ whipped." His brother teased.

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Like you aren't wrapped around a certain blonde bombshell's finger. Did you sleep with her yet?"

"Are you ever going to give that up?" Stefan asked incredulously. "I told you, right now, we're just friends."

"You've been 'just friends' for over six months, Stef." Damon commented pointedly. He hadn't forgotten about his brother's drunken confession about how he might want more with Caroline, but something was holding her back. If he had to guess, he'd say it was wolf boy. "I know I give Caroline a lot of shit, but if you like her, brother, then by all means, don't hold back."

Stefan sighed, "I don't just like her, Damon. I love her."

Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting that.

Some more excuses about why they don't work? Sure. Another pathetic attempt at making him believe Stefan doesn't like her? Of course.

But that?

It was about damn time Stefan realized how he felt about her.

Seeing the dumbfounded look on Damon's face, he elaborated, "Caroline and I…we've been friends ever since she turned. I helped her through the transition, I talked her through everything, and that's really where our friendship started. I never saw her that way because I had been with Elena, but after I came back last year…I don't know, something changed. We got drunk, talked about our exes, bonded some more…it wasn't hard to fall in love with her once I moved on from Elena."

"I'm glad, Stefan." Damon said sincerely. "Caroline's not exactly my cup of tea, but to each their own."

Rolling his eyes a little, Stefan accepted that that was as good as it was going to get when it came to Damon. He wasn't exactly the type to share his feelings.

Damon caught one of Elena's friends yelling that she was heading to the bathroom, leaving Elena alone on the dance floor. He took that as his opportunity and bid goodbye to his brother before weaving his way through the crowd until he was right behind Elena. She was dancing with her arms raised above her head, swiveling her hips around in circles to the beat. Oh yeah, she was drunk and going to be fun tonight.

Taking advantage of the situation, Damon grabbed a handful of her ass and squeezed, snickering as she just about flew through the roof. She whipped around, ready to give whoever did it what they had coming, until she realized it was Damon. Then a tipsy smile spread across her face and she threw her arms around his neck, forcing his body to move to the beat with her hips. He reached his hands down to her ass and grabbed two handfuls this time, leering at her naughtily while she playfully shimmied her chest, making her breasts jiggle.

Their bodies rhythmically rocked together while they masterfully avoided letting it get too sexual. With chemistry like theirs, it was necessary to learn control or else they'd be jumping each other's bones every five seconds. So instead of rubbing up against the bulge in his jeans like she desperately wanted to, she teased him, "Someone's happy to see me!"

He smirked back, "No, he is just very excited to get fondled by your body, that's all."

She giggled, "Can I name your penis? Please?"

He laughed, "No, Elena!"

She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, "Pretty please with sprinkles on top? That way when one of us gets horny in public, we can use his code name! Like, you can say 'Richard just texted me, he needs to talk to you' and I'll know that's code for you're horny and want to have sex!"

"Richard?" Damon snorted.

She wrinkled up her nose, "What? It's short for Dick!"

"Not happening. Try again."

"George?"

"No."

"Moby Dick?"

"Absolutely not."

"Meat Popsicle?"

"Hell no!"

"Weapon of Ass Destruction?"

"Elena!" Damon laughed, taking her face in his hands. "Who the hell isn't going to know you're talking about my dick with names like Meat Popsicle and Weapon of Ass Destruction?"

She pouted up at him, "You said no to all of my normal ones!"

"That's because my penis is too good for any of those mediocre names!" He argued playfully, pulling her body lightly back to his so they could resume dancing.

She huffed, "What if we just called him 'the doctor'? You know, MD, massive dick? 'Cause he's got a doctorate in fucking me senseless?"

Damon shook his head, beyond amused as he said, "You are _so_ wasted, baby."

She flared her eyes, "Maybe you should take me to the doctor, to make me all better?"

"Oh, that's coming later. Trust me." He winked at her, earning a laugh.

The song ended a few moments later, and Elena's friend returned so he headed towards the bar to grab a drink. After all, it was her birthday and he got her the other 364 days of the year. The least he could do was give her up to her friends every once in a while.

The party didn't last too much longer. As it neared one in the morning, the Grill's management began shutting things down so everything could get cleaned up for tomorrow's morning shift. There was a brief debate of going to a club open later to keep the party going, but all Elena really wanted to do was have some drunk sex with Damon then pass out until morning.

Damon carried the few presents she got to the car for her to open later while she said goodbye to all of her friends until she saw them again in late August when the semester began.

Unfortunately, Elena passed out in the car before they even got home, let alone to the drunken sex. Damon carefully carried her upstairs to their room, thinking that his present for her would have to wait until the morning. He laid her in bed and stripped her naked before tucking her beneath the covers, then stripping himself and climbing in with her.

She drowsily opened her eyes and mewled a little noise of exhaustion, and he smiled, brushing her hair away from her face, "Sleep, kitten." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and her eyes shut again as she fell asleep. He followed soon after, once she was wrapped up in his arms and his face was buried in her hair.

* * *

Late into the morning, Elena finally roused from sleep and blinked slowly at the bright light seeping through the windows that they forgot to close the curtains on last night. Thank god vampires didn't get hangovers. It looked like a beautiful day outside, probably pretty hot too, which instantly made Elena think of swimming. Maybe she could get Damon to come with her to the pool, or maybe even the Falls so they could skinny dip. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure Damon even owned a swim suit.

Speaking of Damon…

She flipped over onto her side to look at him, and she found him lying on his stomach with his face smashed into the pillows, facing her. The sheet was draped over his entire body, covering him to just beneath his shoulders. She scooted closer and reached for his hair, moving the long strands away from his eyes. He didn't stir like she had expected him to, so she decided to have a little fun with him.

Pushing herself up to a seated position, she moved the sheet off of him with the intention of straddling his bare ass, however, her plans were halted the second she spotted the bright red design on the back of his left shoulder. Her jaw practically hit the floor as she realized what it was, and she could only sit there dumbfounded trying to make sense of it.

There on his left shoulder blade was a heart shaped tattoo with her name in it, identical to her own tattoo on her right shoulder blade.

Slowly, she trailed her fingers over the ink to make sure that it was real. It moved right along with his skin, and didn't crinkle on the surface like temporary tattoos did.

When it finally registered what he did, she smiled so hard she was sure her face was going to break. Now, she wasn't the only one with a cheesy tattoo on her body with someone else's name in it, and a little piece of her took comfort in the fact that Damon felt confident enough in them to get the tattoo at all.

Of course, she knew he believed in them. He believed in them more than anyone, hell, he was marrying her in a few months! But now that a part of his body was permanently hers just like her shoulder was his, it made things all the more real.

And then it struck her just how completely ridiculous Damon looked with a heart tattoo on his unmarred back. Her big bad vampire had neutered himself in one little tattoo, and she burst out in laughter because of it.

The noise pulled Damon from sleep, and he stretched out his limbs while his face scrunched up in confusion.

"What's so funny?" He mumbled into the pillow, still not opening his eyes.

She smirked and gave his ass a slap, "Well aside from your bright white ass, just a little something else I noticed."

He pouted at her statement and grumbled, "Like it's my fault vampires don't tan…"

She rolled her eyes then threw her leg over his back to straddle him and sit down on his ass. "Maybe not, but there is something else that's your fault…"

"What's that?" He hummed distantly, practically on the verge of falling back asleep.

She slid her hands from his lower back up to his shoulders, lowering her body until her breasts were pressing against his back and her face was right next to his tattoo.

He commented absently, "Have I mentioned how much I love your nipple piercings yet?"

"Not as much as I love this little number that suddenly appeared on your body." She smirked, placing a kiss on the tattoo.

Realization dawned on him then, and he lifted his head to finally get his first look at her for the day.

She was beautiful, sitting on him in all of her naked glory. The sun bathed her olive skin in its golden light, highlighting every curve from her thighs to her breasts. His eyes caught on the shining silver on her nipples. She had in the piercings that circled around her nipple, making them look like the center of a flower. He had a lot of fun getting to go shopping for nipple jewelry with her. Those were one of his favorites, along with a pair that were mouths baring vampire fangs if only for the sheer irony that she has her own fangs too. She also had a pair with the Playboy bunny dangling from them and some that made her nipples look like dream catchers.

When he heard her clear her throat, he realized that he had probably been staring at her nipples for a good minute. It was only then that his gaze flickered up to her face, and an involuntary smile appeared at the sight of her grinning at him knowingly.

Remembering that she had found his tattoo, he said, "I figured it wasn't really fair if only you had my name on your body. It was only fitting that I get a matching one."

"I love it." She said softly, then gently tilted his chin up so she could kiss him. "It's perfect, Damon."

He rolled over beneath her, positioning her above his hardening length though she pretended not to notice. Instead she smiled sweetly down at him, taking in his beauty even if she had woken up like this every day for the better part of two years.

Damon stared up at the woman above him in absolute awe of her beauty both inside and out. Her hair was like a lion's mane of curls from the night before, tangled and wild and free, opposed to how she usually liked to wear it neat and tidy. She was positively glowing this morning, whether it was from the golden rays of the sun or her happiness, he wasn't sure. Hell, it was probably a little of both. He slid his hands up from her thighs to her hips, caressing her silken skin while her smile widened.

She asked, "What are you smiling at?"

"You." He answered simply. "Your beauty. Your smile. Your happiness. The fact that I get to call you mine."

It wasn't often that he got her to blush at this point in their relationship, but whenever he did, he made a mental note of what he said for future reference so he could say it again just so he could treasure that pink tint to her cheeks whenever he wanted.

Shaking off her slight embarrassment, Elena smiled to herself, "Nobody would ever believe me if I told them some of the things you say to me. You're too good at maintaining your badass image around them."

He smirked and grabbed her hands that had been on his chest, pulling her down so she was lying on top of him. "Do you really want everyone to know how sappy I can be when it comes to loving you?"

"Nope." She answered without missing a beat. "I like the way you don't let everybody see who you really are. It makes these moments just between us all the more special."

"Now who's the sappy one?" He admonished, making a feeble attempt at running his fingers through her knotted hair.

She winced a little as they got caught in a knot, and she chuckled, "Yeah, don't bother. The only thing that's going to fix this mess is a bottle of conditioner."

Images of her naked and dripping wet body pressed against the glass of his shower flitted through his mind, and he smirked, "Then what do you say we finish what we've almost started in bed, then take it into the shower?"

She pretended to contemplate it, "That depends…is the doctor in?"

Fighting a laugh, Damon thrust his hips up to prod her center with his erection, eliciting a gasp. "Does that answer your question?"

She giggled, "As long as he makes me feel good, I don't care what the answer is."

Smirking, he reached around her ass to rub between her folds, finding that she wasn't as wet as he wanted. He supposed the whole heart to heart wasn't exactly the biggest turn on, and he pouted, "Looks like I'm gonna have to do some extra work to get you all hot and bothered this morning."

Once again, her cheeks flamed, and he couldn't help but grin brightly at the reaction. He flipped them over so she was sprawled out on the bed beneath him, and he covered her mouth with his. Her lips parted, granting his tongue entrance to her sweet mouth and he twirled it around hers, devouring her taste. She gripped his back firmly, digging her nails into his shoulder blades just that much harder every time he did something she liked.

He trailed his lips down her chin, darting his tongue out to taste every inch of her skin until he reached her pulse point. His eyes tickled and he felt his fangs lengthen as her heartbeat spiked, making that spot thrum just that much harder.

Blood sharing had become a pretty regular event between them, and now was no different.

Damon gently sunk his teeth into her vein and began drawing deep pulls. She arched her back into his body as a breathless moan slipped between her lips. He reached between them and took his length in hand, lining himself up at her entrance. All it took to tell that she was dripping wet was rubbing his tip up and down her slit.

On the next pull of her blood, he thrust inside of her, making her cry out and pierce the skin of his back with her nails. He growled against her neck, his body involuntarily jerking forward in a hard thrust in response to the pain.

Releasing her neck, he licked up the minimal drops of blood smeared on the healing skin then moved to give her lips a quick kiss. Elena moved her hands from his blood smeared back to his bicep to give herself leverage so she could lift up to kiss his shoulder, inadvertently grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him back into her neck. Her lips trailed from his shoulder to his bicep while he licked and sucked the space just beneath her ear. She lifted her thigh to hook around his waist, pulling him deeper inside of her with every thrust. His hips were rocking into hers, holding a steady rhythm that had no issues drawing out long moans and sharp cries.

Her inner muscles clenched around him, making him exhale a shaky breath while she groaned, "Oh, fuck, Damon…"

A low, deep growl sounded from his chest at her approval and he rolled them over so she was on top, "Come on, baby, ride me just how you like it."

She was so close to her release, the room felt as if it were a sauna. Sweat slid between their bodies as she raised herself up and slammed back down, his entire length fitting snugly inside of her slick heat. His fingers dug into her hips as he guided them up and down, lifting his hips ever so slightly just to make their pleasure that much more intense.

Elena ground her hips against his in circles until her clit pressed against his pubic bone. Her face contorted in pleasure and she began rubbing against him, seeking out her own release.

Knowing that if he wanted to get off at the same time as her he was going to need more, Damon stilled her hips and said, "Bounce up and down, baby, I got this."

He began rubbing her sensitive button while she rode him hard, and the sight of her breasts bouncing and his cock disappearing into her warmth had his balls tightening.

Elena threw her head back in ecstasy and screamed, "God, you fuck me so good baby!"

No words could have sounded better to him in that moment. Mated vampires were about as possessive as they came, and they had been mated since the first time they blood shared after Elena's humanity was turned back on.

And that was all Elena could think of. She reached for one of his hands and brought his wrist up to her lips, laving her tongue over the area while allowing her fangs to drop.

That one quick prick of her fangs was all it took for Damon to be finished. He hammered his hips up into hers while shooting his load inside of her tight heat, everything intensified thanks to the pulls of blood she was taking from his wrist.

She let go of his arm once her orgasm hit her and it hit her like a freight train. Her entire body clenched and shook and white hot electricity burned her veins. She collapsed onto Damon's chest and he stroked her naked back while the tremors died down, his fingers occasionally brushing over her tattoo.

Elena let out a breath, "It gets better and better every time, I swear."

He smirked, picking up her left hand from his chest, "Imagine how good it will be an eternity later." Bringing her fingers to his mouth, he pressed a kiss to her ring.

She smiled brightly at him then nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder, "I can't believe that I'm lucky enough to be able to spend an eternity with you rather than just a handful of years. I know I never used to want to be a vampire, but considering our relationship gets to last forever, I know without a doubt that I'd give up a human life in a heartbeat."

He smiled to himself at the thought then asked, "Kids?"

She shrugged, "If I had the choice, I'd want to be pregnant. But I wouldn't want anyone other than you to be the father, so unless we find a way for both of us to become fertile, we should stick to adoption."

"You want to adopt?"

"At some point, I think it would be nice. We've never really talked about it, but yeah, I'd like to have a child that calls me 'Mom' even if it isn't biologically ours." She explained, tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertips. She glanced up at his unreadable expression then asked, "What do you think?"

Damon smiled, "If kids will make you happy, then we'll adopt an entire orphanage for all I care."

She shrugged casually, secretly beaming inside, "That's a bit of an overkill, don't you think?"

"Our house could fit thirty kids, easy." He brushed her off, jokingly playing along with the idea. "I mean, they'd have to share rooms, but it's not like there isn't enough space."

"Thirty kids? It's a good thing we're vampires because we're gonna need the supernatural strength and senses to keep up with all of them."

Damon rolled his eyes a little, "We'll also have Barbie and Ken around to help us out." She raised a brow at him and he continued, "You don't seriously think that once a baby comes into the mix, Caroline won't be inserting herself into our personal space, do you? And we all know that these days when you get Caroline, you get Stefan too, which is about as pathetic as it gets since they aren't even sleeping together. Or dating, or even romantic."

"I think it's kind of sweet." Elena argued. "I mean, we were friends for a long time before we started dating."

"Yeah, because you were suffering from a serious lapse in judgment, otherwise we would have been together from the first second we met."

She blew out a laugh, "Lapse in judgment? Is it safe to assume that all of my exes are considered a lapse in judgment?"

"Well how else would I come out of this conversation with my ego intact?"

Giggling, she leaned up to kiss his cheek before rolling away to head into the bathroom. Her hair was starting to feel like a rat's nest and she desperately wanted to wash it. She walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for the day, along with a bra and panties. She raised a brow at Damon, who was still lounging in bed with his gaze glued to her naked form.

"Are you going to make me shower all by myself, or are you joining me?"

With a smug smirk in place, she glanced over her shoulder at him as she sashayed into the bathroom, swinging her hips and naked ass as she went.

Damon's answering growl was all it took to get her blood pumping all over again.


	5. Chapter 5

Here's the totally cheesy wedding chapter ;)

* * *

There was a knock on the door as Elena heard Caroline ask, "Elena? Are you ready?"

Elena looked into the floor length antique mirror that matched the rest of the feminine furniture in the room, examining her appearance. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun that hung at the nape of her neck while stray curls framed her face. Her makeup was heavier than normal, but still kept mostly neutral with darker eyes and nude lipstick. Sparkling diamond earrings adorned her ears, peeking out between her hair and glimmering in the sunlight pouring in through the window when she moved. Then her eyes moved to her dress as she smoothed the material down over her hips to ensure that there were no wrinkles.

It was all pure white, and covered in lace from head to toe. The neckline was high, covering her entire chest and buttoning behind her neck to leave her entire back open. Her arms were covered in lacy sleeves and the dress fit her like a second skin until it reached her knees, where it draped to the floor in flowing material and extended behind her in a short train.

Today was the day, and she couldn't have been more ready.

"Yeah, I'm decent Care." Elena called back to her before turning back to her reflection. Even she had to admit she looked stunning, and Damon wasn't going to know what hit him.

The door opened and as soon as Caroline saw her, she gasped and her eyes grew watery.

Elena glared at her, "If you make me cry and ruin my makeup, so help me Caroline I will force a chastity belt on you to stop you from hooking up with the best man!"

The blonde giggled, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a tissue, "We're not even hooking up! I told you, we're just friends."

Elena smirked, "Friends don't have that much sexual tension between them."

She huffed, "Stefan is…well, I really like him, okay? And we're good as friends. Why should I ruin that by trying something more?"

Narrowing her eyes at her best friend, Elena said, "If I really need to answer that, then you're not as smart as I thought."

"Thanks." She sneered, walking closer to stand next to her. Almost instantly, her scowl gave way to a grin and she practically whispered, "You're getting married, Elena."

Elena laughed, the reality of it still shocking her, "I know."

"And oh my god, look at you! That dress!"

"I know!" Elena repeated, swallowing the lump in her throat and blinking back tears. They had found the dress in a vintage boutique while spending spring break in Florida. They were all supposed to be partying their asses off on the girls only trip, but instead they ended up making a pit stop in the little store when Elena saw the dress displayed in the window.

She still remembered the call she got from Damon as soon as the charge went through on his credit card. He was on the verge of having a heart attack at the price, not because he couldn't afford it, but because he couldn't believe a dress could cost that much. When she had answered his call, his first question was if she had just bought a Mercedes or if he had to kill somebody for stealing his credit card and splurging on a speedboat.

It was worth every penny though to see herself in the mirror now.

Once she got the dress, that pretty much set the rest of the planning in motion. She chose a theme around the dress, therefore decorations, and her bridesmaids dresses perfectly complimented it. Caroline and Bonnie were dressed in matching knee length deep purple dresses that were fairly plain so they didn't distract from her dress. The guys' suits were simple as well, black with a white undershirt. Stefan and Jeremy's suits were completed with pocket squares that matched the girls' dresses, but Damon's was just white.

She hadn't seen him yet today, not since a couple days ago as per Caroline's insistence on a traditional wedding despite it being a wedding of two vampires. She actually hadn't seen him since her bachelorette party and his bachelor party.

Fall break happened to line up perfectly with the season Elena wanted to have the wedding in, so the wedding was the weekend before fall break, and they'd be spending the entire week on their honeymoon. They'd be back Sunday night, right in time for class Monday.

Caroline, Bonnie, Megan, and a few other friends from college took her into Richmond for her bachelorette party last night, which wasn't nearly as eventful as she was sure it could have been. No strip clubs, no heavy drinking, no sloppy hookups with strangers. They spent the evening on the town, barhopping and stopping inside of clubs to dance and have a few drinks. Then once they got back to Bonnie's house, where they were all crashing, they had started all of the fun games involving penis shaped paraphernalia. Candy, necklaces, pin-the-penis-on-the-hunk—you name it. If it existed, Elena was convinced that Caroline found it.

Because really, she was the only one bold enough to buy it all in the first place. Even if all of the girls got a kick out of it.

For Damon's bachelor party, he went to a strip club with the guys. Nothing had shocked him as much as when Elena was perfectly fine with that. In her eyes, the thought of Damon cheating on her was laughable. It was downright impossible, hell, his dick didn't even work for other women.

She would know—she once came home from school to surprise him for the weekend when he wasn't expecting her, and she caught him trying to jack off to porn but failing to get it up. When she asked why he was even bothering if he wasn't turned on, he told her that he was bored and figured it was a better option than doing nothing.

So when he was dreading asking her if he could go to the strip club for his bachelor party and she outright laughed her compliance, his surprise was just as laughable.

The one thing she wasn't too happy about was that her brother was now old enough to get into the strip club. Not that that would have stopped them from compelling the bouncers anyway, but he was still her baby brother. The image of some gross stripper giving him a lap dance wasn't at the top of her list of things to see before she dies.

At least she didn't actually see it.

But speaking of her brother…

Elena asked Caroline, "Where's Bonnie?"

A nervous look crossed the blonde's features, and she bit her lower lip. Elena shot her a glare, daring her to withhold whatever it was and Caroline caved, "Okay, don't freak out, but her dress doesn't fit. It's too big, so we called the seamstress from the place in town and she's with her now trying to bring it in without making it look awful."

"Is it going to be ready in time? Caroline, we have an entire backyard filled with people waiting for this wedding in ten minutes!"

Caroline gave her a look, "This is why I didn't want to tell you! The seamstress promised she could get it done in time, and as long as none of the pictures feature the back of her dress, nothing will look out of place."

Elena let out a breath, "Okay, I guess that's fine, I mean, why would we have pictures with your backs?"

Smiling, she agreed, "See? No need to stress!" Reaching for the bottle of champagne, Caroline refilled Elena's glass that she had been sipping while getting ready and said, "Now drink this, because that's not all."

She didn't need to be told twice, and Elena gulped down the bubbly alcohol before grimacing, "How bad is it?"

"Um…" Caroline looked up at the ceiling, trying to find the right wording, "Definitely not 'cancel the wedding' bad, but not great. So it turns out, Jeremy was trying to keep up with Stefan and Damon at the club last night in drinks, and—"

"Stefan and Damon are vampires! How the hell could he think he could ever keep up? What about Enzo? Surely he tried to talk some sense into him!"

Enzo was a vampire that Damon had known since the fifties, but lost touch with. Apparently their history together wasn't very pretty, involving imprisonment for years while being tested on since they were vampires. That little tidbit of information was discovered shortly after the spring semester started when Elena became friendly with her microbiology professor.

Whitmore college seemed to have a lot more vampire hating secrets than it led on, including a hidden dungeon that resembled the one in the boarding house, except there were several different cells for multiple vampires. Augustine members, a secret society of scientists that researched vampire healing powers and tried to mimic them in humans, captured vampires and tortured them while doing this 'research.'

Damon had repressed the memory by shutting off his humanity when he finally escaped with Enzo, and that's why they lost touch.

The news had opened up a door to his past that Elena was almost afraid to explore. Being tortured for years, experimented on, starved, and put on display like some kind of animal had to have caused some lasting damage, and it broke her heart. Hell, he had to turn off his humanity because of it, hence why Lexi had been trying to turn it back on in the seventies.

He met back up with Enzo by sheer coincidence. Over the summer, they had decided to spend a week in New York on vacation to really experience the city properly this time. They were hanging out in one of the many underground vampire clubs when Enzo walked in. Within minutes the two of them were acting like best friends.

Elena could only imagine the kind of bonding that occurred between captives, and it was nice to see Damon with a true friend.

Ever since then, Enzo had been hanging around Mystic Falls now that he had somewhere he was wanted. He was a really great guy, and fiercely loyal, which was one reason she imagined Damon liked him.

Well that, and now every time Damon wanted to go on a killing spree, Enzo was all for it.

Damon really only binged on rare occasions, like when he and Elena got into gigantic arguments or if someone pissed him off past the point of return.

It wasn't Elena's favorite part about him; far from it actually. She had always pushed him to be a better man, even when he hated her for it at times. But in the end, that's what she did. She brought out the good in him, the human part of him. She made him want to be a man worth her time, and the only occasions on which he slipped up were when he was pushed past his breaking point.

One of their biggest fights actually happened shortly before the semester started.

Now that Jeremy had graduated high school and was going to Whitmore for graphic design, nobody really lived in Mystic Falls anymore that couldn't leave. So naturally, Damon and Elena signed a lease on an apartment right on the edge of campus.

Liam, her friend that was going to be a doctor, asked her to hang out the first night they were moving in. Figuring she should get her fill on fun before the first day of classes, Elena went out while Damon stayed behind to finish unpacking, upon his insistence.

One thing led to another, and Liam ended up wasted and unable to even tell Elena where he lived so she could safely get him back. With no other option, she brought him back to their place only to find that Damon had gone out. He left a note saying that Stefan had some kind of emergency. Elena had put Liam to bed on the couch, and she went to the only bedroom in their small apartment to crash. In the morning, Liam had woken confused and disoriented and Elena let him use their shower. Damon hadn't come home yet, but just when she was about to call him he walked in the door.

It just so happened that it was at the same time Liam walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She hadn't thought anything of it, until Damon's accusatory gaze darted between the two of them and she realized all she was wearing was a black t-shirt that easily could have been his and her panties.

He stormed out without another word and refused to talk to her for a day. Then when he did finally cool down, Elena was too pissed to even talk to him. She had thought that he didn't trust her, and she kicked him out of the apartment for a week because just the sight of him broke her. It wasn't until she heard from Caroline that Liz reported several 'animal attacks' thanks to Damon and Enzo that her anger diminished.

It wasn't easy, but finally after a few days of talking—well, more like screaming, they were able to work things out.

So as much as Elena liked Enzo, he wasn't really the best influence on her fiancé.

Caroline snorted a laugh, "Because Enzo was going to be the voice of reason."

Elena rolled her eyes, "So what's the damage?"

"Jeremy has been barfing all morning and looks like death, which is kind of hard to do at a vampire wedding."

Groaning, Elena asked, "What about vampire blood? Wouldn't that make him better?"

Caroline opened her mouth to argue, but promptly shut it, "Actually, that's not a half bad idea. Want me to go do that right now?"

Their heads spun at the sound of another voice in the room, "Do what right now?"

Bonnie stood there looking curious, and Caroline answered, "Give Jeremy some of my blood to make him stop barfing all over the place."

Bonnie grimaced, "Normally I'd be against the idea, but in this case, I don't think he's going to make it to the wedding if you don't do something."

"Do it!" Elena yelled. "He's supposed to be walking me down the aisle, Caroline!"

"Okay, okay!" She squealed, scurrying out of the room.

Bonnie smirked, "A little harsh, don't you think?"

Elena raised a brow, "You try having the man that's supposed to walk you down the aisle at the wedding of your dreams vomiting everywhere."

"Fair enough." She teased, walking closer. "Hot dress, by the way."

Elena giggled, "You think?"

She grinned, "Yeah, give me a little twirl or something for the full effect."

Smiling giddily, Elena spun around and held out her hands, "What do you think?"

"I think all that's missing is your veil."

The mood sobering just a little, Elena nodded, "I wanted to wait until the last minute so I didn't ruin it. Is it time now?"

Bonne smiled sympathetically, "Yeah. She'd be so happy for you, Elena."

"Thanks." She said softly, fighting back any tears that threatened to fall.

Walking over to the box on the bed, Elena brushed her fingers over the thin white material with lace lining the edges. It was her mother's from her wedding, and by sheer luck it ended up matching her dress.

Bonnie picked it up and as she positioned it in Elena's hair, Elena asked, "So your dress is fixed?"

She nodded, "No need to worry, it's a perfect fit now. Just a few safety pins and new seams in the back."

"Good." She breathed in relief. Bonnie settled the veil around her, and Elena had to suppress even more tears.

"No crying!" Bonnie chastised lightly. "You've got a very nervous groom waiting for you downstairs, and you being late because we had to redo your makeup isn't going to help!"

"He's nervous?" Elena asked shyly.

Bonnie laughed a little, "It's almost two o'clock and he hasn't called me 'Witchy,' 'Sabrina,' or 'Judgy' once."

The corner of Elena's mouth tugged up into a smile, and she said, "Then we better not keep him waiting any longer."

She grinned, "Come on, everyone's waiting downstairs."

Elena followed her other best friend down the stairs of the boarding house, finding Caroline and Jeremy waiting in the parlor. Her brother didn't seem sick, and as she marched up to him, she growled, "Hungover for my wedding? Seriously, Jeremy, what the hell were you thinking!?"

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not hungover! At least not anymore…"

She narrowed her eyes, "You're lucky this is the best day of my life, or else you'd probably be missing a vital organ by now."

"It wasn't that big of a deal!" He defended.

"And what would have happened if you puked on my dress!? I would have skinned you alive!" She hissed.

"Retract the claws, Elena!" Caroline screeched as music began playing in the background. "Now put on a happy face before those doors open and everyone sees you!"

Elena groaned and practically stomped her foot, but as soon as Caroline shoved a bouquet in her hands she forgot all about it. The flowers were white lilies and had the same dark purple as Bonnie and Caroline's dresses spotted through them. She could already imagine doing the bouquet toss, and maybe purposely throwing it to Bonnie just to give Jeremy the hint, not that they were anywhere near ready for marriage like Damon and Elena were.

The back door opened, and Caroline and Bonnie filed outside one behind the other to the tune of the music. Then when it was Elena's turn, she hooked her arm through Jeremy's, their argument completely forgotten, and he whispered to her, "You look amazing, Sis. Thanks for letting me walk you down the aisle."

She gave him an incredulous look, "Like I'd have anyone else do it."

And then the time for talking was over, as they took their first step outside.

The backyard of the Salvatore boarding house had been completely transformed into a place she barely recognized. White folding chairs draped in shimmering silver fabric were lined up on either side of the aisle. There weren't many, just enough for their close friends and family. After a lot of deliberation, they decided that they had to invite all of their friends from college, meaning they had to keep the whole vampire secret throughout the evening.

A white carpet was rolled over the grass to cover the aisle and it led up to the altar. Her eyes instantly settled on Damon in his breathtaking suit and tie. His hair was the same as always, if not a little neater than usual, but that could also be due to the haircut he got mere days ago. He was watching her like his life depended on it, his eyes glued to her figure as she and Jeremy slowly walked down the aisle. She couldn't get there fast enough.

Stefan stood off to his side, dressed in a suit nearly identical to his, and across from him Bonnie and Caroline stood waiting. She chose both of them as her maids of honor, so there were no hurt feelings. Besides, it was such a small wedding small labels like that weren't really important.

A white wedding arch was set up behind them, decorated in the same flowers as her bouquet and the minister stood beneath it.

It was all very simple, but perfect, nonetheless.

Beneath the biggest oak tree in the yard was where they had set up tables and a dance floor for the reception. With a late October wedding, all of the leaves on the tree and the surrounding forest were brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Crystals hung from the tree in ropes, draped across the branches and dangling down above the area. The table centerpieces consisted of a glass jar with a candle inside of it and flowers arranged around them. The table cloths were a plain cream color, and the chairs were wrapped in a big silver bow. Tiny lights were strung from the branches above, and soon they would be lighting up the night as they celebrated their marriage.

But right now, the real light in everyone's eyes was walking down the aisle, practically glowing from her happiness. She emanated beauty like no other, and it was no secret to the male population either.

But after today, they'd never have to guess if she was single or not. They'd never have to guess if Damon was single or not, because they all knew he wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes either.

The pair of them really did make a stunning couple, and when they would exchange rings in a few short minutes nobody would ever dare question their relationship.

Damon couldn't tear his eyes away from his girl, dressed in all white, walking towards him down the aisle he never imagined would exist.

God, he couldn't wait to marry her.

Jeremy removed her arm from his and taking her hand, he placed it into Damon's while giving him a wink. It was all Damon could do to stop from rolling his eyes.

Instead he placed all of his attention back onto Elena, who was now standing in front of him with her fingers laced through his. She beamed at him so brightly he was sure he'd need to wear sunglasses for the rest of the day to let his eyes recover, and in response he smirked a little and shot her a wink.

That only made her blush.

Winking at her always pulled the color to her cheeks.

The minister began speaking about the sanctity of marriage, the meaning behind it, blah, blah, blah—what they shared was so much more than just love, because they were vampires. Their emotions were heightened. No human could ever understand the depth and intensity of their feelings, and this whole wedding was more about the human title of being husband and wife than anything else.

Because when it came down to it, to any vampires, they were mates. Meant to be together. Twin flames. Their souls were intertwined into one. One was the perfect compliment to the other.

No human could ever understand that on the level they did.

The minister then asked for them to exchange rings and vows, which they chose to write themselves.

Damon would allow this one moment for his façade to slip to the world, revealing his true self both to Elena and their guests, because he didn't want anyone to ever doubt how much he loved her. He wanted the thought of questioning their relationship to sound downright absurd, and if pouring out his heart and soul to her in front of everyone they knew was the only way to do it, he wouldn't hesitate.

Turning around to retrieve the ring from Stefan, Damon lifted her left hand and began, "Elena, you are, hands down, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have spent years in this world trying to convince myself that I could do everything on my own. That I was perfectly happy with that, even. The only thing in my life that held any meaning was my brother, and back then, even that was debatable. But when I met you, you showed me what it was like to really be happy. You taught me what true love was, and how it meant being selfless. You brought my brother and I back together, you never failed to give me a chance to show you that I was worth your time, and I've never been more excited in my entire life to get to call someone my wife."

Her eyes were expectedly watering, and she mouthed 'I love you' to which he just smirked.

Sliding the ring onto her finger, he continued, "With this ring, I vow to you my eternal love, faith, and loyalty. You will never know what loneliness feels like, and you will never question the authenticity of my emotions. I vow to always be honest, and do everything I can to make you smile, even in your darkest moments. You make me a good person, and I'm not complete without you in my life. Lastly, I vow to give you everything you've ever wanted in life, and even if it seems impossible, I will find a way."

The last few words of his declaration were barely a whisper, one that held more promises than Elena knew. She reached up with her right hand to brush away a tear, figuring it was okay to let a few stray ones fall now. Not that she really had a choice in the matter.

Elena then turned to Caroline for Damon's ring, and she sniffed a little before starting, "Damon, the kind of love that you showed me can exist is far too profound for me to ever put into words. At times, you've risked everything just to keep me out of harm's way. You've even let me hate you for it, because the only thing that mattered to you was my safety. And that's the kind of selflessness that I always knew was in you, even when everyone else was determined to prove that you weren't good enough. Beneath the sarcasm that I begrudgingly admit I love, is a man that has been hurt repeatedly throughout his life. When you chose to let me in and show me your love, it opened a door I was scared to go through. I knew how impassioned you were, how sexy and intense, and to know that a man like you could love a girl like me scared the hell out of me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but when that fear transformed before my eyes into a thrilling, passionate love, that was when I knew that I had nothing to be afraid of. I let my guard down and you came flooding in, and I have never looked back since."

She slid the ring on his finger, then brought her gaze back up to his only to get burned with the intensity of his eyes. His whole body, really, was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and knowing that she was the one that was able to mend his heart and bring out who he really is was something she would cherish forever.

Blinking back some more tears, she continued, "I take this ring and vow to you nothing but love. There will be times that we fight, maybe even for weeks at a time, but I will do so knowing that we will get through them. I vow to let you be yourself, and not try to change you into someone you're not. I fell in love with the impulsive, witty, and fierce man that would walk to the ends of the earth and then jump off if he thought it was what was best for me. I vow to love you, cherish you, and always be with you, as long as we're both still walking this earth."

Without another second's hesitation, the minister announced, "I now pronounce you man and wife, you—"

Before he got to the whole 'kiss the bride' part, they beat him to the punch. Damon wrapped his arms around her lower back and lifted her into the air as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

Cheers erupted around them as party poppers went off, showering everyone in rainbow confetti. Reluctantly, Damon lowered her back to the ground and gave her lips a few more quick kisses, which she happily returned while they both smiled until their faces hurt.

They then turned to face their guests, Elena taking her bouquet back from a teary Bonnie, and they walked back down the aisle and into the house. Caroline linked her arm through Stefan's as they followed the newlyweds, and Bonnie did the same with Jeremy.

After regrouping in the house, they all made their way to the makeshift 'reception' that was just those few tables set up with another that had some food. More for the humans than anyone else, and it was all very casual. Wooden floor panels were laid out across the grass to provide a surface for dancing as opposed to the soft ground.

Caroline was instantly directing everyone for the next event—pictures. The photographer had been hired to take candids of the entire night, but they of course needed some posed photos that included the wedding party.

After that, everyone had some time to grab food and talk to the bride and groom, even though all either of them could think about was fast forwarding to the honeymoon.

A little while later, music began playing over the speakers positioned around the area, and Elena recognized it as the song she chose for their first dance.

_All I Need_, by _Within Temptation_.

She figured it was suiting for their first dance as husband and wife to be to the same song that they first danced to at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. That was when she first felt how sexy Damon was. When he saved her from being completely humiliated by not having a partner, she saw him as more than just her boyfriend's cocky older brother. Of course she wanted to remind him of that dance, which is why she had told him that he'd know what song she chose for their first dance when it played.

And now, it was overly obvious.

His eyes sought out hers as she abandoned her conversation with Stefan and he ignored whatever Liz had been saying to him. She grinned smugly as he shook his head in amusement.

He knew the significance of the song, and as he reached out his hand to take Elena's he pulled her into his chest and smirked, "Feeling nostalgic?"

She wrapped an arm around his neck and settled into his arms while he began leading her back and forth to the slow beat. Forget the whole 'traditional' dance that they had to do back then, they were married now. Any and all touching was perfectly fine in the public eye.

"For the time when my ex-boyfriend went on a ripper binge and abandoned me at a dance?" She teased, keeping her voice low so no humans would overhear. "Surprisingly, yes."

"But only because you got the have my hot body pressed up against yours, right?" He joked, flaring his eyes at her.

"For about thirty seconds." She reminded him. "The rest of it we weren't allowed to touch at all."

He leaned in to press his cheek against the side of her head and hummed, "Mm, but weren't those thirty seconds just…"

She waited for him to finish, if he was even going to, and when he didn't, she moved her head so she could look at him.

"Like we were the only ones that existed." She finished for him, and he smiled as he dropped his forehead to hers.

"Yeah." He practically whispered. "Exactly."

They danced to the music for a few more long moments, so absorbed in each other that they didn't even notice everyone else pairing up to join them.

"I love you." Elena said softly, tangling her fingers in the shorter hair at the base of his neck.

Damon blew out a quiet laugh, surprising her, and when she looked into his eyes for an explanation, she got the best one she could ever find.

His eyes were watering, and a few tears had slipped down his cheeks.

If there was a place higher than cloud nine, that's where Elena was. No, she was even above that, because the only other time she had seen Damon cry was when he had compelled her to forget about it.

And this time, they were happy tears.

She moved her hands to his cheeks and used her thumbs to brush them away. She then grinned, "Later tonight, when we're all alone—"

He cut her off, "Elena, I swear to god if you finish that sentence I'm not going to be able to stop myself from throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you to the nearest surface."

"Fine, fine." She laughed. "I guess now you'll just have to keep guessing what I was going to say. So many dirty thoughts, some that we haven't even tried yet…"

"Elena…" He said in a warning tone just as their song ended and faded into the next one.

She ignored him, and continued, "Or maybe I was going to say something different, something about all the things that our future holds." He raised a brow and she smirked, "Yeah, no. I was going to say something dirty."

"Evil little minx." He playfully nipped her lips and she giggled.

Everyone continued dancing for a while, until it was time to cut the cake.

With both of their hands on the knife, they sliced into the bottom tier of the simple white cake and put some on a fork to feed to each other.

Damon didn't dare smear it all over her face like he wanted; she was wearing a dress that cost more than a car. He didn't want to risk ruining it when he damn well knew she'd want to keep the dress forever.

A little while later Elena did the bouquet toss, and as hard as she tried to throw it to Bonnie, Caroline was the one that caught it.

Who knows? Maybe she'll be the next one to get hitched after all.

Elena had wanted to do the garter toss too, but as soon as she brought it up with Damon he flat out refused to let anyone see her bare legs while he pulled it off with his teeth. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. If she had to watch his teeth nipping her skin that close to the space between her legs, she couldn't promise that she wouldn't have taken him right then and there, guests be damned.

There was more dancing after that, where the bride and groom were able to be separated long enough for everyone else to have their shot at a dance with them.

Jeremy demanded at least one dance with his sister while Caroline insisted on dancing with Damon when he'd really just rather sit down. Both her and Bonnie had really warmed up to him after so much time was spent living a normal life. There were no more life or death decisions, and when Damon wasn't so easily volunteering to be the bad guy, they got to know the real him. Or at least enough of that man not to hate his guts.

As Jeremy and Elena began dancing to the music, she said, "I tried to make sure Bonnie caught the bouquet, you know."

His eyes widened, "I'm eighteen!"

She shrugged, "And I'm twenty one. With a life like ours, you can never be too hesitant to make major decisions."

He rolled his eyes, "Well that's not going to happen for a long time. Bonnie and I are still human. Well, sort of…I mean neither of us are immortal. I think we're going to shoot for a normal human life together."

"Good." Elena said forcefully. "You should want that. You and her are probably the only ones with a real shot at having a normal life, and you should go for it with everything you've got."

"You can still have a normal life too, you know. Just a vampire's definition of normal."

She laughed, "Whatever that is, I think that's what we're living right now."

Jeremy smiled at her, the sight of his sister so happy a welcome one after everything they've been through. "Congrats on getting hitched, by the way. Mom and Dad probably would have hated Damon at first, but I guess we all did. They would have come around, and they would be proud of you today."

"Thanks, Jer." She said softly. Her parents had been on her mind all day, and now that Damon was officially her husband, she figured she owed them another visit to the cemetery with him.

The rest of the reception didn't last long.

There was a little bit more dancing, talking, and what felt like thousands of congratulations before finally the limo arrived to take the happy couple to the airport.

Everyone lit sparklers and created an aisle down the driveway leading to the door, where the driver was standing with a smile. Their bags were already in the trunk, and Damon gave Elena a hand inside before sliding in beside her. The driver closed the door, and for the first time since they got married they had each other alone.

And they took full advantage of the fact.

Elena was in his lap with his tongue down her throat before the driver even shut the door all the way, her hands messing up his hair while his landed on the curve of her ass.

It was only when the car started moving and Elena tumbled out of his lap and back in her seat, having lost her balance, that they separated.

Breathlessly, Damon asked, "Well Mrs. Salvatore, are you ready for Hawaii?"

She grinned mischievously, "I think the real question is, is Hawaii ready for us?"


	6. Chapter 6

Elena sighed heavily at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was artfully pinned away from her face with large curls rolling down her shoulders. Her makeup was neutral, just tones of browns and grays with a swipe or two of mascara. Her black dress was very simple and conservative, falling to her knees and covering up to her neck.

She figured the more she blended in, the easier this day would be.

It wasn't a day she'd ever imagined would come so soon, and her heart broke for her best friend.

Caroline's mom passed away just a few days ago.

She went to the doctor for a checkup after noticing recurring migraines, and they found a cancerous tumor in her brain. They gave her only a few months to live after explaining that at such a late stage the tumor was untreatable through surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Caroline took off the semester from college to be with her mom in her final days, despite Liz's many protests. It was their last semester before graduation, so now she was just shy of the credits needed for a degree. Graduation was early last month, so Elena and Bonnie walked across the stage, but they couldn't be as happy as they should have been because their third musketeer wasn't there.

Immediately after the semester ended, both girls packed up everything they owned at Whitmore and came home to be there for Caroline and her mom.

Liz had been like a second mom to both girls, after Bonnie's mom left her with her father when she was little and Elena's parents passed away. Sleepovers were almost always at Caroline's because Liz would always make sure they had all of the necessary movies, snacks, and games.

While Elena knew Caroline's pain, she couldn't say she shared it in the same way today. Liz had been like a mom to her, yes, but she wasn't her real mom. And Elena couldn't compare that feeling to the simple loss of someone she was close to.

Caroline was a wreck, and even if somehow everyone did manage to convince her to stay in college, she would have failed every class she took.

Knowing that her mom's life had a deadline put her neurotic tendencies to the test. She went through the stages of grief before Liz was even gone.

First, it was denial. She hadn't even taken the news seriously at first, thinking that vampire blood would heal her right up. When that failed, she started panicking. She tried convincing her mom to turn into a vampire, as crazy as the idea was, even though Liz had no desire to be one. That plan was also quickly put in the reject pile when Caroline decided to experiment on a stranger with the same diagnosis as Liz. Vampires and cancer don't mix well, it seemed.

Then Caroline was forced to accept that there was nothing she could do to help her mom, and that she was in fact dying.

Anger, obviously, was next. She snapped at anyone that talked to her and blamed herself for not taking advantage of the time she had with her mom in the past. Throughout high school she was a raging bitch to Liz, and she couldn't handle the fact that she wasted all of that time being mad for no reason.

Bargaining had kind of been included in the whole denial stage, but after she stopped being angry she devoted every waking moment to searching for a cure through magic since modern medicine had failed her. Bonnie tried to explain that magic doesn't heal terminal human illnesses, but she wouldn't listen. She went on cross country trips trying to track down every last option, though not alone.

Stefan tagged along with her on almost anything she did. In the few years since they became close, they still hadn't crossed that line of friendship despite flirting with it on more than one occasion.

Now wasn't the time to make a move though, which was painfully obvious. Liz's death affected the entire town, not just Caroline, and nobody was in a place to be making life-altering decisions.

Depression was where Caroline found herself for about a total of three days, before she put on a brave face and moved to acceptance.

And that was all a month before Liz actually passed away.

On that day, Caroline learned that she really hadn't accepted it, or even grieved. She knew that the day would come, but that didn't make it any less painful. Her mom tried consoling her while in the hospital, but it was no use.

She just wanted to be alone.

She threw herself into planning the funeral, unsurprisingly. Or at least putting the finishing touches on it since it had been mostly planned before Liz's death. That way with the costs and insurance, everything could be handled before the real devastation set in.

The funeral started in a few hours, but Elena and Damon were showing up early both for Caroline and Liz.

In the rare moments that Caroline was away from her mom, everyone had filled a lot of Liz's time, trying to get in their last words with her before she was gone.

Damon, namely, was having a hard time with it all.

Liz had been one of his first friends after coming back to Mystic Falls. They had initially bonded over their hatred of Carol Lockwood in the council, and despite more than a few bumps in the road what with vampirism and all, they were still friends. Damon would still have a drink with her at the bar every now and then, and during any town functions that Elena couldn't attend, she was his saving grace. They even formed a new council, since it was agreed that the humans still needed a designated group to protect them from anything supernaturally dangerous.

She asked Damon to write her eulogy since she knew Caroline wasn't going to be able to function enough to do it.

And he was struggling.

Elena closed her eyes at the fresh wave of pain that washed through at the raw desolation she could see in his eyes every time the topic of Liz was broached. Damon was never one to have many people close to him for this exact reason—losing them hurts a whole hell of a lot worse.

After putting in her diamond earrings that Damon bought her on their second wedding anniversary, Elena slipped into her black heels and headed downstairs to see how he was doing.

He was in the same place she left him, only now, he was dressed in a black suit and tie. Crumpled up pieces of paper were scattered all over the table in the kitchen and lying haphazardly on the floor surrounding the fireplace. Clearly his aim wasn't as good when he was day drinking.

The bottle of bourbon was only half empty next to him on the table, so at least he'd be sober enough for the wake to give his eulogy.

Elena's heart broke at the scene. Damon did his damnedest to put on a brave face around everyone, pretending he didn't care, only to slowly lose himself in his own head. Even after being married for over two years, he still didn't like bearing his soul to Elena if he had the choice.

Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she walked up behind him. He was scribbling something onto a sheet of paper, but as soon as Elena's arms snaked around his chest from behind, he stopped and let the pen fall from his hand. He brought his other hand up to rub his forehead as a deep sigh left his body looking deflated. He eventually leaned his head back to rest against her chest.

She pressed a long kiss to the top of his head then asked, "How's it going?"

"Terrible." He answered without hesitation. He'd spent hours working out what to say ever since Liz asked him to give the eulogy, yet he'd gotten nowhere. "What exactly am I supposed to say? There's no possible way that any words I have to say could make this thing any better, least of all for Caroline."

"You don't know that." Elena pointed out, moving to sit in the chair next to him. She kept one hand on the back of his neck, playing with his hair, while she said, "Caroline's like a sister to you. She might never admit it, but hearing you say some nice, genuine things about her mom would mean a lot to her."

He shook his head dejectedly, "I can't honor Liz's memory with just a few words, Elena. I can't go up in front of the entire damn town and preach about was an amazing person she was, because it's all bullshit. Cliché bullshit that doesn't do her justice."

Elena bit the inside of her cheek as she let Damon work through whatever negative thoughts were swirling around in his head. He had yet to make eye contact with her, letting her know that he was hurting more than he led on. If he looked into her eyes, he'd lose it, and he couldn't lose it now.

She traced her thumb over the curve of his ear as she brushed his hair away from it, giving him some sort of physical comfort. She knew better than anyone that emotional comfort wasn't possible until the person was ready for it.

"How about instead of talking about Liz, you talk about the thing most important to her?" She offered.

He raised a brow and shot her a sideways glance, "What's that?"

Elena smiled a little, "Her daughter."

Damon furrowed his brows and Elena hastily checked the time, realizing if she didn't leave now she was going to be late. Caroline wanted her help with the flowers, and the last thing she wanted to do was show up late.

"Look, I've got to head up to the church. Caroline's expecting me. Make sure you're there by three, and you're set to do the eulogy at four thirty." She moved in to kiss his cheek and he leaned into her before she stood up and headed towards the door. Before she left, she turned and said, "Damon?" She waited until he looked at her. "Don't think too hard about it, okay? Liz wouldn't have asked you if she didn't think you wouldn't do an amazing job."

* * *

The funeral hadn't even started yet, but the church was jam-packed with people wanting to pay their respect to the sheriff.

Elena and Damon had already done their part, aside from the eulogy, so they were seated in the second row waiting for everyone to take their seats. Caroline was still somberly greeting the residents of Mystic Falls, her eyes rimmed in red and her lower lip trembling every few words.

Elena had to turn away at the sight, because she remembered how awful it felt to be the object of everyone's pity. She pressed her face against Damon's shoulder as if he could shield her from the world around them, and his grip on her left hand tightened as his finger rubbed against her wedding band.

The tears falling now were far from the last Elena would shed for the day.

Damon noticed that Jeremy and Bonnie were sitting in a similar position a few seats down from them. Stefan and Enzo were hanging around in the back, and Damon was sure that had to be awkward as all hell.

Since Stefan was moving slower than a snail's pace at making a move on Caroline, Enzo had taken it upon himself to make a pass at her. Of course, it all started before they found out Liz was sick, but Enzo hadn't stopped being supportive for a even a second.

If you would have asked Damon back then if he thought Enzo had a chance at Vampire Barbie, he would have laughed out a lung. But now…well, things were looking like he had a real chance at snagging Caroline, and Damon wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He didn't know the details; frankly he didn't care. It just seemed that his brother was coming home in a pissy mood more often than not, and Damon had to resist every urge to ask him how it felt to have the woman he loves' relationship with another guy rubbed in his face. That's what Stefan did to him with Elena, wasn't it? And he didn't even try to be subtle.

But bygones were bygones, and Damon had no desire to bring up the past when it was of no importance anymore. Besides, his little brother was finally starting to feel like his best friend again, and he didn't want him to get hurt. Especially by one of Damon's friends.

Aside from them though, there was nobody else at the funeral that they really knew. None of their friends from college came, because they didn't know about it. Caroline wasn't exactly jumping at the bit to tell everyone that her mom was dying, and that was why she was missing their last semester of school together.

All of their lives had pretty much halted at the news, but everyone else's seemed to keep passing by.

Now that she had graduated, Elena didn't really have many plans for her life. She was going to write, that much she knew, but with an endless list of opportunities in front of her she didn't know which one to take first.

There was traveling, to name one. Seeing the world with Damon would be a dream come true.

But she was getting a little ahead of herself. Caroline wasn't going to feel better anytime soon, and she needed to be here in Mystic Falls for her as long as it took. After all, they did have forever to do anything they wanted.

The minister started the ceremony by saying a few prayers in honor of Liz's Catholic upbringing and the crowd rose to join in a few hymns. Elena tried her best not to think about her parents' funeral because this wasn't about her, and she didn't want to make it about her. Yeah, it was bringing up the memories, but she kept them to herself to let Caroline know that it was her day to grieve, and no one else could take that away from her.

When it was time for Damon's eulogy, Elena whispered words of luck to him as he stood and walked towards the podium. He pulled out the sheet of paper from his inside jacket pocket that had been burning a hole into his chest the entire evening. He flattened it against the wood, smoothing out the creases so he could read it.

"Liz was a woman loved by all." He began. "She was protective of this town and her family, and she took pride in her title as Sheriff, probably more than anyone else can say about their jobs. So instead of mourning her death, I say we honor her life by upholding her legacy. And who better to represent her than her own daughter?" Caroline's bleary eyes shot up to his at that from where she sat in the front row, and Damon gave her a small smile before continuing. "They actually have a lot in common, despite their glaring differences, and Liz was so proud of the woman Caroline has grown into. I think we can all agree actually that she's become one of the most vibrant, compassionate, and beautiful women this town has to offer. It takes a lot of strength and courage to even be here today, looking as amazing as she does, and she deserves all of the credit in the world. My mother passed away when I was seventeen, and I chickened out on the eulogy then. But this time, it isn't for me. It's for Caroline, and Liz, and I couldn't let them down like I let down my brother and family, because if Caroline has the ability to be here today, then I know her bravery will be all the motivation I need to tell her that Liz will be missed, but never forgotten, and when she needs her mom the most, she will always be there to watch over her and guide her through all of the important parts in her life."

He paused a moment before continuing, "As much as Liz would love seeing all of the support this town has shown by even being here today, she wouldn't have wanted any of us to lose sight of what's important in the face of grief. She would want all of her coworkers to keep protecting Mystic Falls. She would want her friends to appreciate the time they did have with her, and make peace with the fact that life can be short. Liz was a woman unlike any other, and though she made many mistakes in her time, she passed as a woman loved by all. Her legacy will continue in this town through her daughter, and I know that whatever Caroline chooses to do, as long as she's happy, her mom will be proud of her from wherever she is right now, looking down on us all. Liz was an amazing friend, sheriff, and mother, and she will always hold a place in all of our hearts."

Damon stepped down from the podium and the crowd began clapping, but he hardly heard it because all that he could focus on was the blonde hair in his face as Caroline hugged him to her with bone-crushing strength. He smirked a little to himself then caught Elena's watery gaze. She was beaming at him, and he shot her a wink before returning his attention to Caroline.

He kissed her cheek before giving her a small, sincere smile. She was speechless, every word she wanted to say conveyed perfectly in her tear jerking expression. Damon tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear before heading back to his seat next to Elena.

All Elena could do was give him a quick kiss on the cheek to show her appreciation.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. The wake lasted only another hour before the procession began, and everyone went to the cemetery. Well, everyone meaning only those that Liz was closest to.

Elena and Bonnie took Caroline in their arms and held her tight the entire time to ensure that she wouldn't fall apart just yet. Tonight the three girls were having a sleepover so they could try to make sure Caroline was okay. At least physically okay, because emotionally, it would take time to heal.

Caroline hadn't wanted them to make a big deal over her, and she used plenty of excuses to try and get them to cancel. Damon needing Elena tonight after everything was one of them, but Elena knew that Caroline needed her more. Liz was her mom, and that kind of pain wasn't so easily brushed off. She tried convincing Bonnie that she was fine and that she should be at home getting ready for her trip to California, but Bonnie wasn't taking no for an answer either. Jeremy was offered an internship with a graphic design company in LA over the summer, and now that Bonnie was on the lookout for a job, she decided to spend her last free summer vacationing with him.

When the funeral finally ended, everyone split up to head home. Jeremy went back to his place, he even had the deed in his name now that Elena was married and living with Damon. Stefan and Damon went back to the boarding house. Enzo headed out for whatever apartment he decided to hole up in. And the three girls headed back to Caroline's place.

The entire night was spent trying to distract themselves from the crippling pain for even a second. It wasn't the best sleepover they'd ever had, but it was one step in the direction of healing.

Elena didn't get home until late afternoon the next day, having spent the day with Caroline and Bonnie. As soon as she stepped in the door the stench of booze attacked her senses, though she didn't expect anything else. She tossed her bag down on the floor next to the door and threw her keys on the end table before venturing further into the house. She knew Damon was here; she could hear him breathing.

It didn't take her long to track him down in the library, passed out on the floor with his face smashed into the rug and an empty bottle still in his hand.

Maybe he had needed her last night more than she thought…

Sighing, she pried the bottle from his hand and set it on an end table before sitting down next to him. Reaching out to him, she pushed his hair out of his eyes and softly said, "Damon…?"

He stirred slightly but made no move to get up, and Elena smiled. He was awake. It didn't take much to wake him up. He groaned tiredly and Elena's smile deepened. She moved her hand down his back and rubbed up and down his thick muscles, relishing in the thinness of his t-shirt.

She gently massaged the back of his shoulder with one hand while saying, "I know, baby, but it's almost five in the afternoon."

The only indication that he heard her was the pout on his lips. Elena continued rubbing his back in soothing circles, slowly coaxing him awake while trying to gauge how upset he was. Once she knew that, she could work on making him feel better.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked gently, her tone urging him to give her the truth.

His body seemed to sink further into the floor as he let out a long breath, though his muscles were relaxed beneath her touch. It took him a moment, but finally he cracked open an eye and said, "I shouldn't be this upset."

Elena smiled sadly before dropping to lay next to him on the floor. She stroked his cheek from where she rested on her side, then said, "Come here."

He wordlessly scooted closer and Elena flipped onto her back to let him lay his head on her chest. She sifted her fingers into his thick hair and his arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close.

"Of course you should be upset, Damon." She eventually said. "Liz was your friend. There's nothing wrong with being sad and missing her."

There was a beat of silence before he started, "I know death, Elena. I've lived through more of it than I ever should have, I've even caused it on too many occasions to count. I lost my mother when I was a teenager, and though he may not have mattered as much, my father a few years later. Not to mention all of the friends I'd made once I became a vampire that fell victim to that life and died. I've watched the expressions on people's faces as they saw me drain the life from someone they loved. I know death, but I never learned how to grieve."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Elena offered, "Me neither." Damon didn't say anything, so a few moments later she continued, "I don't think anybody knows how to grieve. It's such a vague word that can mean so many different things…I've seen grief do strange things to people. It's done strange things to me, even, but that doesn't make it wrong. Because in the end, whatever you have to do to make it through the pain is the only thing that matters."

"Even if it's drinking the day away?" He asked bitterly, as though he was upset with himself for reacting that way.

Elena dropped a kiss to the top of his head, "A day or two here and there doesn't hurt, but you know it's not going to help."

"Then what will help?" He questioned exasperatedly.

"Talking about it, for starters." She told him honestly. "And time. That's a big one."

Except Damon didn't want to talk. He didn't want to feel this pain to begin with, and he knew talking would make it worse before it got better. He wasn't ready to deal with that just yet, so instead, he changed the subject.

"How's Caroline doing?"

"Not good." Elena answered instantly. "You know her, she throws herself into anything that will distract her. Stefan got there to take over just as I was leaving."

"And what are those two lovebirds doing today?"

She smiled a little, "Nothing romantic, that I can promise you. When I left, Caroline was talking about moving to a new city. Stefan's probably trying to talk her out of it right about now."

"Maybe a change of scenery wouldn't be the worst thing in the world." Damon mused. "At least for now. It's not like Mystic Falls has anything holding her here, or any of us, really."

"True as that may be, the funeral was yesterday. I don't think now is the time to pick up and leave."

Damon flipped his head so he was looking up at Elena and replied, "Au contraire, kitten. Now's a better time than any. She's going to have countless people she doesn't even know showing up at her doorstep offering her their condolences for days, not to mention all of the babying she's going to get from them all. I'd be shocked if she manages to get through this unscathed without even flipping her switch and going on a bender."

"You think she'd flip her switch?" Elena asked worriedly. Caroline had always been one of the strongest vampires she knew. She never struggled with control or her emotions, in fact, she truly became herself once she transitioned.

Damon shrugged, "If I'd had a switch when I was human and lost my mom, I would've turned my emotions off. Wouldn't you?"

Elena ran the thought through her mind before saying, "Honestly? I would have thought about it. But I had Jeremy to look after; I couldn't just abandon him."

"But who does Caroline have that's depending on her?" Damon pointed out. "Sure, she's got all of her friends, but none of us count on her to be here. The only reason she really has for not flipping it would be love, but seeing as how her romantic life is a giant mess, I wouldn't count on that keeping her here."

"Do you think I should call Stefan and warn him? Maybe he should get Caroline out of here, at least for a couple months so she's not surrounded by everything that reminds her of her mom…"

"Where's your phone?" Damon asked, his grip around her tightening ever so slightly. He wasn't going to let her get up without a fight, and she knew it.

"In my back pocket."

He snuck his hand underneath her and gave her ass a playful squeeze before pulling out her phone. He handed it to her and she typed out a message to Stefan suggesting he take Caroline on a little vacation. Maybe he could take her on a cross country road trip like Damon did with her when they first met. Trapped in a car for long periods of time meant there were a lot of opportunities to talk things through, and not only did Caroline need to get out all of her grief, but she needed to figure out her feelings for Stefan and Enzo.

After hitting send, Elena asked, "Now what about you? What can I do to make you feel better?" Seeing that teasing glint reappear in his eyes, she quickly added, "And being real, please."

He smirked at getting caught with his mind in the gutter then said, "Being real? You. You can make me feel better."

She smiled warmly at him and ran her hands through his hair again, "So what do you want to do tonight? We can go out to a nice restaurant, or even just The Grill and grab a few drinks, or we can stay in and maybe cook a nice dinner…"

"Hm…" He deliberated. "How about something a little more…naked?"

Elena tried to suppress a grin as she said, "More naked? Well how about we go for a swim in the brand new pool?"

"I think I could get behind that…" Damon smirked, pulling Elena on top of him as he rolled over. Their lips connected in a brief kiss before he said, "No swimsuits though. From the sounds of it, Stefan won't be home, so there will be no accidentally walking in on us."

That had happened more times than any of them cared to admit. It was kind of hard to avoid with two married vampires that had raging libidos and lived with another person. Stefan had considered getting his own place so he wouldn't be invading theirs anymore, despite both of them insisting that it was Stefan's home as much as it was theirs, but he spent most of his time with Caroline anyways, so he was hardly home.

"Am I hearing you correctly?" Elena teased. "You're finally going to go for a swim in the brand-spanking-new pool you bought for no reason?"

Well, it wasn't really 'no reason,' Damon just wasn't quite ready to let Elena in on why yet. So he let her believe that the buy had been when he was drunk and that the deposit was non-refundable, so they were forced into getting the pool.

It was beautiful, built right into the ground behind the stone patio that had been on the house ever since Elena knew him. The contractor had extended the same stone as accent details so it blended into the house like it had been there all along. There was even a built in hot tub that sat elevated a foot or two above the pool, with a waterfall spilling over into the pool.

He wasn't really much of a swimmer to start with, meaning that the pool was only used by Elena and their friends, though it wasn't for her lack of trying.

But maybe tonight, he was feeling closer to his family. After experiencing all of the pain from the past few days, he wanted to spend a little more time with his wife, even if that meant swimming with her. He had actually been doing a lot of things around the house lately that he hadn't told her about, though the pool was kind of an exception. It was pretty hard to hide that.

Their third anniversary was coming up soon in October, and he was going to give her one hell of a gift. He just hoped that when it came down to it, she liked it.

"I know, it was an impulse buy, but wouldn't you rather get in that water that I pay to have heated to a toasty eighty degrees than question it?"

She smirked, "Only if you're in that bathwater too."


	7. Chapter 7

Elena had never spent much time in airports. Restaurants, yes, schools, yes, hell, even cemeteries, but never airports.

Her mother had been deathly afraid of flying, so whenever they went on vacation they'd always drive.

But over these past few months, it seemed she was spending all of her time in them. Traveling from city to city, country to country, continent to continent—her passport was overflowing with stamps from all of the places she'd been to.

They had started with the United States. Damon took her to see everything he deemed important, like the capital of the country and Las Vegas. Then they went south to Mexico where they spent a week or so hanging around beaches and touring the city. They traveled to Central America then, stopping in Costa Rica, Panama, and Jamaica. South America was the next stop, where they visited São Paolo and Rio in Brazil along with Argentina and Chile. Their next flight landed in South Africa where they toured the city and the surrounding terrain, though they didn't venture far into the desert. After another week or so spent there, they went towards Europe. Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland—you name it.

Turns out, Damon actually did have a gigantic fancy house in Italy. It was one of the most beautiful houses she'd ever seen, and they spent over two weeks in Italy because of it.

When they got their fill of Europe, the next place was Asia. They visited Moscow for a few days, then hopped on a flight to India where they got to experience the culture first hand by shopping at a bazaar and talking to the locals that knew English. China, Japan, and Thailand were next, before they flew down under to the last place on their list.

Australia had been Elena's favorite, hands down. That's why they spent three weeks there. They rented a little house down on the beach where they got to know some of the locals. Elena learned to surf while Damon barhopped with them, sampling Australia's finest liquor.

Neither of them had wanted to leave, but with their three year anniversary today, Damon insisted on being back home in Mystic Falls for it.

With he and Elena having not been in the country for the better part of five months, it gave him a lot of time to make arrangements for Elena's anniversary gift.

The airport in Richmond was as busy as ever today, but it wasn't hard to spot the head of bouncing blonde curls in the crowd.

"Caroline!" Elena squealed excitedly and the two girls took off full speed towards each other. The blonde jumped into Elena's arms in a bone crushing hug, and she dropped her bags to the floor while they laughed and hugged. If Elena had been human, she would have been tackled to the floor by the tenacious vampire.

When Caroline finally jumped down from Elena, she grabbed her shoulders and said, "Oh my god, that is the _last_ time you are _ever_ going to leave for that long, you hear me?"

Elena giggled, "Promise!"

The entire vacation had really been kind of a whim. After Liz's funeral, Stefan decided to take Elena up on her suggestion of getting Caroline the hell out of town. They started small with New York, but they ended up spending a month seeing the country. They weren't quite as adventurous as Elena and Damon, who had decided that if now wasn't the perfect time to travel, then when was?

Damon had promised her all those years ago to take her to see the world. And he made good on his word.

Elena truly felt like a different person. After experiencing so many different cultures and seeing the millions of people the world had to offer, she felt so much less important. And it was a good feeling. No longer the center of anyone's attention was a good thing.

Well, she was still Damon's entire world, but her friends were no longer breaking their necks over saving her life.

She felt better than she had in years, and having Damon right by her side, looking at her like he'd never seen something so precious, helped. She got to see a side to him that he kept hidden. While they were walking through the streets of Rome, she got to see him take in the sights with a real smile on his face, unafraid of letting everyone around them know that he was happy. Across the world, no one knew who he was, or what he had done. There was no one to judge him, and apparently, that made all the difference in his personality.

He had felt free too, like he could start over with Elena in any single city and they'd have the life she always wanted down to the white picket fence. Of course he knew it wasn't quite that simple, but it was a dream that he could entertain for a decade, at least.

Mystic Falls was their home and always would be, but it was nice to forget about all of the pain it held every once in a while.

Damon walked up behind the two girls and held out his arms, "What, no welcome home hug for me?"

Caroline shot him a little glare before a giant grin broke out across her face and she jumped onto him too. Damon groaned and made a comment about her weight, which then prompted them into an argument, but all Elena did was roll her eyes at Stefan who was moseying on over to them. She gave him a hug and said, "It's good to see you, Stef."

"You too." He smiled. "So what are they arguing about now?"

Elena tuned in to their argument, which was happening while still in an embrace, to hear Caroline yell, "Oh, I'm overreacting?"

Damon nodded, "Yes!"

"You called me a dumb, fat, whore!"

"Technically I called you a loose college dropout that definitely didn't lose her freshman fifteen yet."

"Damon Salvatore!" Elena chided.

He gave her a sheepish look, "She had it coming!"

"_This_ is why I didn't give you the welcome home you wanted!" Caroline screeched before slapping his chest and stomping out of his hold towards Stefan. "How could you be related to such a dick!?"

Damon snapped, "Hey, I'm the only one that gets to call me a dick!"

"Okay!" Elena yelled, pinning Damon with a look before turning to her friend and brother in law, "Drinks at the Grill when we get home?" Now it was their turn to look sheepish. Caroline worried her lower lip between her teeth while Stefan ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling. "What is it?" She asked tiredly.

Caroline shrugged a little, leaving the floor to Stefan. He hesitated before starting, "Well, um, it's just that we thought you'd rather spend your anniversary together instead of—"

"Come on, the real answer." She cut him off.

He sighed, and if Elena didn't know any better she'd say he was blushing. He then squeaked out, "Caroline and I are going on our first date tonight."

Elena's eyes went wide and her hand shot out to grip Damon's arm while she suppressed every girlish squeal in her. Damon didn't look too surprised, instead, he just laughed and shook his head while prying Elena's death grip from his flesh.

She then yelled at them, "Well what the hell are you two doing here! You have a date to get ready for!"

Stefan chuckled, "Well we couldn't let you get back after five months with no welcome party."

Elena waved him off, "It's our anniversary, Stefan! We'll just spend it alone." Glancing at her phone, she added, "And it's almost six! You two need to go now if you want to make it before the sun sets!"

"Alright, alright!" Caroline teased. "Pushy."

Damon gave Stefan a quick hug before the new couple scurried off to leave.

After getting their things from baggage pick up, Damon and Elena hailed a taxi home. The driver was more than thrilled to drive them an hour's way out of the city, especially after Damon tossed him a fifty just for getting their bags.

The closer they got to the boarding house, the more curious Elena became about Damon's gift to her. He hadn't said much, just hinted that there was a gift he had. She had tried to get him a gift too, but when she asked if there was anything in specific he wanted, he insisted she didn't get him a thing. His gift was more for them both than just her.

Obviously she didn't listen to him.

She managed to track down a few first edition copies of his favorite books that he didn't have yet. But that wasn't the gift she was most excited about, even though it was still pretty good. The real showpiece was the black Harley she had delivered to the house to surprise him when they got home.

Over the years, every time he saw a motorcycle he'd make a comment about never having owned one. So finally she decided to take the plunge and bought him a gorgeous bike that was all shiny steel and raw power.

He loved his Camaro almost as much as he loved her, but she had a feeling he was going to love the motorcycle like a child.

When they finally pulled up outside the house, the cab driver helped them with their bags, setting them on the porch before Damon paid him and he drove off. Before he had the chance to unlock the door, Elena stopped him, "Hang on. Before we go inside, I want to give you your anniversary present."

He narrowed his eyes, "I told you not to get me anything."

She rolled her eyes, "Come on, you're gonna love it!"

Damon followed her with a sigh, even if he hadn't expected her to really listen to him. They stopped outside of the garage, and Damon's guard was instantly alert, "Elena, I swear to god if you touched my Camaro—"

"Why would I have touched the Camaro, Damon?" She said exasperatedly. "Just open the garage."

He bent down to grab the handle and with an easy tug, he slid the door up. His Camaro was sitting untouched in it's normal spot, and Stefan's car was next to it, but his focus was on the one vehicle that hadn't been there before in the four car garage.

"You did not." He said excitedly, walking over to the motorcycle. His hands were all over it in an instant, feeling the smooth leather of the seat and the cool metal of the handles.

Elena grinned, "I did." She grabbed the keys from the workbench and tossed them to him, "Happy anniversary, baby."

She was in his arms before she could move a muscle, her feet no longer on the ground as he spun her around.

"Fuck, Elena, do you have any idea the kind of fantasy I have right now of you on this bike in nothing but a bikini? Or better yet, nothing at all?"

She smirked, "And I'm sure we'll live them all out at some point. I've kind of got this hot fantasy myself about you racing it illegally on the back streets of Mystic Falls. Then you win, and we have sex right on top of it in front of everyone."

"Kinky." Damon grinned. "I like it."

"There's more to your gift though. Look in the side bag."

He opened up the leather pouch and pulled out a gift bag with brightly colored designs covering it. He pulled out the tissue paper to find the three books. He was confused at first, until he realized they were all first edition. He looked up at her in disbelief, "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"

"I think I can hazard a guess." She smiled adoringly before leaning up to give him a kiss. "The copy of _Frankenstein_ was part of Mary Shelley's personal library. When she died and they seized the house, it went into a museum, that recently filed for bankruptcy. I called them up and snagged the book for you."

He floundered for words as he looked at the books. _Frankenstein, The Count of Monte Cristo_, and _Dracula_, all first editions, continued to stare him in the face. If his library wasn't evidence enough he collected books, and to add not one first edition to it, but _three_…he wondered what he ever did to deserve Elena.

This time, instead of another excited hug like she was expecting, he buried his face in her neck and held her tenderly. "This is the best gift you could have given me, baby, thank you." He said softly, leaving several kisses along her neck and jaw.

"You're welcome." She smiled softly, stealing a gentle kiss. "Now, care to tell me what this ominous gift you've been alluding to is?"

He gave her one of those dangerous little smirks of his that still got her going after all these years, "Let's go into the house."

He closed the garage behind him and they went back to the front door where he unlocked it and stepped inside. Elena didn't notice any grand gestures or giant signs screaming 'happy anniversary' at first glance. She actually didn't notice anything until they walked further inside and the details of the house failed to match up to those in her memory.

"Um, Damon? Were we robbed or something?" She was really only half joking, but that was one explanation for the lack of knick knacks.

He chuckled, "Yeah, somebody robbed a house filled with vampires."

"We were gone for five months!"

"Stefan was here, Elena!" He argued. "Come on, do you notice anything specific about what's missing?"

She huffed a little then took a moment to actually look around the room. The expensive vases, antique lamps and furniture, and all of the various décor from the 1800's was missing. The pricey Persian rugs now had cream patterned ones in their places, and the couches and chairs had been replaced with plush furniture that looked much more cozy and comfortable than the dusty old furniture. Even the walls had been painted and updated to look more inviting.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him, "You redecorated this place to something a little more this century?"

Damon shrugged a little, "Kind of. But what I was hoping you'd notice is that I had all of the expensive and priceless things in here moved to storage."

"So you just messed up this room?" She laughed a little.

He rolled his eyes, "No, I didn't mess up any room. I made this place actually a little more livable, where you can sit down on the furniture and not feel like you're going to break it."

She nodded thoughtfully, thinking that Damon didn't have the worst taste in the world. The new furniture matched the house and looked great, and she wondered just how many rooms he redid.

"So, um…not that I don't appreciate it, but why did you do all of this?"

"Well I removed all of the things that are worth money so they wouldn't get broken, and I got rid of all the swords and sharp things so nobody would get hurt."

"Oh, right, yeah wouldn't want a bunch of vampires getting hurt." She teased.

He grinned, "Come upstairs with me."

Hoping he'd give her an explanation that actually made sense, she followed him upstairs and to their room, but instead of going inside like she'd expected, he kept walking.

He stopped at the next door down and nodded his head towards the room, "Go inside."

Her heart started racing the closer she got to the door, because she really had no idea what to expect. Anything could be behind that door. Hell, the room might even be empty, but Damon would come up with some amazing gift from it that blows her away without even trying. He's always been like that.

She took a deep breath before twisting the doorknob and pushing it open.

Well, she definitely never would guessed what she found.

If she remembered correctly, that room used to be a spare bedroom. But now? Now it was…

"Is this a nursery?" She asked him in a small voice.

The old carpeting had been replaced with a soft cream color, and a big area rug with adorable little woodland animals all over it was in the middle. There was a crib against one wall, a rocking chair in the corner, a toy box, a dresser, a changing table, and even a twin sized bed. All of the furniture matched with its dark wood and plainly colored details, leaving room for customization.

Elena felt Damon's hand on her lower back before he said, "Yeah. I started the adoption process, baby. I didn't want to get anything too specific since we have no idea who we're getting, but the social worker promised that if everything checked out, we'd get a child, Elena."

"She did?" Elena asked breathlessly, still trying to take everything in. She wandered over to the crib that had a mobile hanging above it and grabbed one of the cute little purple elephants dangling from it.

Damon hugged her from behind and pressed a kiss to her temple, "Yeah, she did. We have an appointment with her next week to go over all of the details, but if all goes well, we could have a child in a few months."

"You got me a baby for our anniversary?" Elena repeated, turning to him with shiny eyes.

"If that's what you want, we can adopt a baby. But…" He trailed off, losing some of his confidence.

"But what?" She prompted, cupping his face with her hands.

He gave her a little shrug, "I was kind of thinking that maybe we could adopt a kid that's two or three already, or maybe even older like five or six. As kids get older and older, their chances of getting adopted gets lower and lower, and I just thought…"

She cut off any chance of him finishing that sentence with a firm kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and forced her tongue between his lips, giving her all at attempting to inhale him. His arms tightened around her waist to the point of being unable to breathe, so it was a good thing she didn't need to.

When they separated, Elena began, "Damon…this is the most amazing gift you could have ever given me. All I've ever wanted was to be a mother, and even if my children aren't biologically mine, that's okay. My parents weren't biologically my parents, and I never saw them any differently. I love you. Nothing would make me happier than adopting kids with you."

As Damon pulled her into another crushing kiss, images of him being a father flitted through her mind, melting her heart and sparking her love for him. He would love their children so fiercely that he'd kill anything that even whispered a threat of their safety. She could imagine him holding a bundle of blankets in his arms while feeding the baby nestled within. She saw him teaching a child how to read some ridiculous book about puppies that chew on furniture.

She saw him doing all of it, and she couldn't wait for it to be a reality.

* * *

Elena nervously bounced her leg from where she sat next to Damon in the waiting room. The walls were white, _so_ white, it was almost ridiculous. Did they even want people feeling comfortable in there or did they want them feeling like some kind of science experiment, because Elena was seriously doubting their decorator.

Bland paintings hung on the walls that looked like they were picked up at some cheap garage sale, and the carpeting was so dull and worn down that it was a miracle you couldn't see the concrete floor beneath it. The chairs were all mismatched and uncomfortable, and once again Elena found herself shifting in her seat to make a feeble attempt at getting comfortable.

"Don't be nervous." Damon whispered, so not to draw the attention of the receptionist or other people waiting. "Everything is going to be fine."

"But what if it's not?" She argued worriedly. "What if they're not satisfied with our credentials? What if they tell us no?"

"Then we compel them into saying yes?" Damon said like it was the most obvious thing.

"But what if we really aren't prepared enough?"

"We are." He promised her, giving her hand a squeeze. "You have wanted to be a mother since the day I met you. You are twenty four. You're ready for this."

"And what about you?" She challenged.

He gave her a lopsided smirk, "I'm ten times as old as you, and I've been thinking about having kids since I was raised in Virginia during the mid-1800's. Granted, there was a good century where I didn't think about it even once, but that's beside the point. I want children with you Elena, any way we have to do it. I'm ready, and I know you're ready. We will be the best parents ever, together."

Elena exhaled a shaky breath as she nodded, but before she could say anything the cheap wooden door swung open and a middle aged woman with glasses called out, "Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore?"

They followed her back through a series of hallways, all of them looking as dull as the waiting room. Occasionally the doors were open and the blinds covering the windows were pulled open so you could see inside, but they just looked like your typical offices. The woman walked into her office and motioned for them to sit down across from her desk.

She picked up a few manila folders and shifted them on her desk, saying, "Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore, my name is Brenda Groves, and I've been assigned to your case. I see here that you're requesting adoption?"

Damon was the first to answer, "Yes, we've been working with a few different workers here to get the process started."

She smiled, "Alright, well for starters, let's go over all of the basic stuff. Everything in your file meets our requirements. It appears you have a permanent home that is paid off, both of your credit scores are excellent, all of your taxes have been filed, no criminal charges against either of you, not even a speeding ticket. Your background checks came up clean, and all in all, you're a pretty flawless couple. There's just a few little concerns that I have and want to make sure I address. I see that you, Mr. Salvatore, are only twenty five, and your wife is twenty four. Isn't that a little young to be thinking about adoption already?"

Elena looked nervously at Damon before saying, "We are young, yes, but we were married when I was only twenty one. We shared an apartment near Whitmore while I was in college, and when I graduated we moved back home to where we live now. I know we're both young, but with my degree already finished, we want to start building our family as soon as possible."

Brenda scribbled some things down into the file as she asked, "So then you believe that your home life is stable? There would be no extreme changes in short periods of time?"

Elena confidently answered, "No, of course not. Damon and I love each other more than words can describe. We have no plans of uprooting our lives in slightest, and there's absolutely no chance that we would ever break up."

"And what about careers?" She asked. "I notice that you, Mrs. Salvatore, have a degree in English though no job has been listed, and Mr. Salvatore has labeled himself unemployed. Where will your source of income come from?"

Damon spoke up, "Actually, if you check my bank statements, you'll see that I have a sizeable fortune. I come from old money, and have more than enough to provide for my wife and I and any children we have the privilege of adopting. And Elena wants to be a writer, so we'll both be home around the clock to care for any kids instead of hiring a babysitter or nanny."

Brenda flipped through a few different pages, most likely looking for the bank statements, and neither of them missed the way her eyes widened when she saw just how much he had. She cleared her throat and said, "Yes, I see that now. I should think you'd be able to provide a pretty great life to a child, at least financially. But what about emotionally? You two seem like a lovely couple: young, attractive, ready to take on the world. I don't mean to pry, but the question of why you're choosing adoption is an important one."

"Of course." Elena agreed. Before coming here, they already got their background stories straight to cover up anything supernatural. "When I was sixteen, I was in a car accident with my parents. I was the only survivor, but there was a lot of internal bleeding. The only way for me to survive was if I had a hysterectomy, meaning I could never have children of my own."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." She said gently. "Thank you for sharing that though, it really does help your case, believe it or not." Elena smiled and she continued, "Now, what about immediate family? I would assume that at some point over the course of your lives, you'd need to have someone watch your child, so would family fill that role?"

Elena nodded, "I have a younger brother, Jeremy, who's in his junior year of college. Damon has a younger brother too, Stefan, but he's only a year younger. And my two best friends, Bonnie and Caroline, are our same age. Bonnie has been dating my brother since high school and Caroline is actually just beginning her relationship with Damon's brother."

"Okay, and have either of you experienced any type of abuse or had any mental illnesses?"

They both shook their heads and Elena said, "When my parents passed away I received some counseling for my survivor's guilt, but after a few months things improved so I stopped going."

Brenda smiled sympathetically, "And that's very understandable, so that shouldn't affect your chances of getting approved. In fact, I'd say you two have an excellent chance of having the opportunity to adopt."

"Thank you, so much." Elena beamed, her excitement causing the words just to start spilling out of her mouth, "Last week was our three year anniversary and Damon converted the room next to ours into a nursery and he baby-proofed the entire house. Ever since finding out that the process has been started, I've been buying all sorts of baby books and books about caring for children, and I even found some about raising adopted children and how to explain to them that you're not their biological parents. I was actually adopted myself, but I didn't know until I was seventeen, so I know I'd never be able to keep a secret like that from my children."

"We do tend to urge parents to tell their kids that they were adopted since day one because finding out later on can be rather traumatic. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Brenda said.

Elena smiled, "It's okay, really. And we're fully prepared to handle whatever adoption can throw at us. Like if when the child is older and they want to look for their biological parents, we would support them fully. I ended up finding out that my biological parents were my adoptive father's brother, so my uncle, and a woman he used to see as a teenager. They've both since passed, but I was glad that I got to know the truth and meet them both, you know? It gave me a lot of closure."

Brenda nodded, "I have to admit, learning that you were adopted yourself is actually a really good thing. The number one reason that couples are denied adoption is because we don't feel they're prepared to take on the responsibility of raising a child that could potentially have needs that a biological child wouldn't have. But hearing that you know about all of this because you've been through it…well, I can never guarantee that you will get approved, but I'd say it's pretty much in the bag. I just have one more question for you." Elena and Damon shared a look as they squeezed each other's hand, and Brenda asked, "We have a lot of children that come into the system from all around the world. Some stay for longer than others, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to adopt someone that's older than a year old, or if you had any requests on where you'd like to adopt from?"

Damon answered, "Any child that's in need of a home we'd be willing to adopt, but if at all possible we'd like to adopt a child age six or under."

The reason for that was solely because they were both vampires, and they had no intentions of keeping that a secret from their kids. They figured the younger they were, the easier it would be to explain to them that they weren't human, so they would never age, but they didn't have to be afraid of them.

"Okay, that shouldn't be a problem to arrange." Brenda said, making a few more notes in their file. "That's it for all of my questions, so do you have any of your own?"

"I think we're pretty well informed." Damon said, looking to Elena as she nodded in agreement. "We've been researching adoption for a while now, but if we come up with any questions we'll be sure to call."

They all stood up and Brenda shook both of their hands, "It was so nice to meet you both, and I'll be in touch soon."

Brenda walked to the door to let the couple out, and she closed the door behind them. She peeked out through the closed blinds of her window at them, and saw them talking, though she couldn't hear what about. And then they were embracing tightly while Elena's smaller body shook with sobs as she cried happy tears.

She'd seen a lot of couples come and go in the adoption process. Some never met the criteria, and others just barely scraped by. But those two? She'd never been happier to place a child with a couple as loving and excited as them.

* * *

I really love the idea of Delena adopting, if you couldn't tell :) I've never read a fic where they remain vampires who adopt, so I wanted to write it for them in this one.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry about the delay, I kind lost motivation to read for a little while :/ I only have one more chapter written after this one, so the story will be wrapping up soon. Thank you to everyone who read and/or reviewed!

I had a couple reviewers say that they weren't crazy about the idea of adoption, but personally, I want to be a foster parent some day. This subject is close to me and I think it's really important to show the validity of adoption for all of the people out there that can't have their own kids or simply don't want to, like me.

Anyways, here's a nice long chapter :)

* * *

This year, Virginia got hit with a huge snowstorm, _hard_. The entire state got slammed with a foot of snow, and it was only the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Normally, Elena and Damon wouldn't care in the slightest. Except this year, all flights were delayed because of the snow.

Elena crossed her arms as she watched the snow continue to fall through the window on the runway while plows hastily attempted to clear it off while pouring down salt. All flights, incoming and outgoing had been delayed for a few hours until conditions were better. The blizzard stopped around two hours ago, and now snowflakes were just flitting down every now and then.

Damon came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, "It'll be here soon."

They got a call a couple hours ago that the flight from Phoenix took off, and now they were patiently waiting in Richmond for its arrival. They'd been at the airport the entire day waiting.

She nodded, "Weirdly enough, I'm not at all nervous."

"No?"

"Nope." She looked up at him, "I'm really, really excited."

"You're not worried?" He asked curiously.

Elena shrugged, "Maybe a little, like if she'll like us and our home, but from what Brenda told us, her life in Phoenix wasn't anything she'll miss."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean she's going to be happy about leaving everything she's ever known to come to a brand new placed filled with people she doesn't know." Damon pointed out.

"Then I guess we'll just have to make sure her first few days here are fun."

Smirking, Damon asked, "Are you trying to win her over with material objects?"

Elena rolled her eyes, "No, but if anything's going to make her excited to be here it's material objects. And she's excited about the snow. I can't control that."

"You got her a snowsuit, right?"

"It's bright pink." Elena beamed. "You have no idea how fun it was to buy clothes for her."

Damon grinned, "I may not, but my credit card does…"

She pouted at him and he playfully nipped her neck, earning a giggle. Elena's phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, her heart speeding up as she read the message. "They just landed."

"Then let's go meet our daughter."

They hurried back over to the waiting area for baggage claim, which was away from the windows. If Damon's hand had been human, Elena was sure she would have broken every single bone in it with how tightly she was gripping it. Now that the moment was actually here, she was getting a little more nervous. Her heart was pounding, her stomach was twisting, and her hands were sweating. If she listened closely, she could even hear Damon's heart beating a little bit faster.

The seconds ticked by like minutes, and the minutes like hours as they examined every single face that walked passed, looking for the small one that they'd memorized from the photos.

And then they saw her.

She was walking with her hand in Brenda's and a stuffed bunny in her other arm. She had on a purple dress with striped leggings underneath, and her dirty blonde hair was messily hanging around her small face, hiding her big brown eyes. The fair skin of her face was sprinkled with a few light freckles, and she was wearing a tiny backpack with some cartoon character on it.

Brenda said that she explained what being adopted meant to her, so she had an idea of what was going on and who the people were that she was going to be living with. But she was only three; nobody knew how much she really understood it.

When they got close enough, Brenda smiled at them brightly and shook their hands with her free one, "I hope we didn't keep you waiting here for too long, but with the snowstorm we were delayed for three hours in Phoenix." It was in one ear and out the other to them though, because all they could focus on was their little girl. Elena crouched down to greet her as Brenda said, "Elena, Damon, this is Morgan." Brenda lowered herself as well and said to Morgan, "Morgan, you remember what I told you on the plane?" She nodded and clung a little closer to Brenda. "This is Elena and Damon. You'll be living with them now, forever."

She turned her head to Brenda and asked in a small voice, "Forever?"

The woman nodded and gave her an encouraging smile, "Yes, sweetie. They adopted you. Can you say hi?"

She seemed to curl further back into Brenda as she looked at Damon and Elena, but they both knew that it was going to take a while for her to warm up to them. This was the first time they were meeting, after all.

Elena gave her a smile, "Hi Morgan, it's nice to meet you. I'm Elena."

Damon knelt down next to Elena and shot the little girl a lopsided smile, "She's not as scary as she looks, I promise." Elena shot him a hard glare, but the corner of Morgan's mouth turned up in a smile anyway. Damon smirked, "I'm Damon."

She looked up at him through her lashes and said, "I'm Mo-gan." Her letters weren't quite to the point where everything could be pronounced, but it just made her all the cuter.

Damon grinned, "So what do you think of all this, Morgan?"

Her little shoulders lifted in a shrug and something tugged at both of their hearts. She would get the best damned life they could give her, even if it killed them.

Elena tried, "Have you ever seen the snow?"

Her eyes got just a little bit brighter as she shook her head, "No."

"Do you want come with me to the windows to look at it?"

"Can I play in it?" She asked hopefully, moving further away from Brenda.

Elena grinned, "Of course, sweetie, once we get home. Our house has a huge yard, and there's a ton of snow for you to play in."

"Can we build a snowman? And make snow angels? And a igloo!" She babbled as she reached a hand up to hold Elena's when she stood.

Elena beamed, "Yeah, of course, Morgan."

Damon watched them walk towards the window with a smile on his face before turning to Brenda, "So is this all there is to it? We just get to take her home and that's that?"

"Unfortunately, no. You do get to take her home and show her around today, but there will be a few checkups down the road. I'll stop by probably tomorrow to see how she's adjusting, and then in a week, and then a month, and if everything is still going well after that, you'll be all set. She's officially yours." Brenda explained.

"Has everything legally been transferred yet though? We're planning on enrolling her in preschool and we have to legally be her parents to do so."

"There shouldn't be a problem as far as that goes, just a quick call to the adoption agency is all it should take if anyone needs proof."

"And what about her name? Obviously we're keeping her first and middle, but about her last…"

Brenda smiled, "It's already changed, Damon. Morgan Jane Salvatore has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Damon grinned in response, and they went to retrieve their luggage. Damon swung Morgan's duffel bag over his shoulder and grabbed her princess suitcase, then he and Brenda walked over to where Elena was pointing at something to show Morgan on the airplane runway.

"Hey girls, ready to get out of here?" He asked as he looped his arm around Elena's waist.

"Yeah, there's a box of hot chocolate at home calling our names." Elena smirked at him before turning to Brenda. "Are we all set to head out?"

Brenda nodded, "Of course." She then bent down to Morgan's level and asked, "Are you okay to go to your new home without me?"

Morgan pushed her messy hair out of her eyes and nodded, "I get to have my own room there, and my own toys!"

Nobody really knew any of the details of Morgan's foster parents or the conditions she lived in, but from what her psych evaluation gathered it wasn't good. Her behavior was sometimes unpredictable and erratic, and her emotions changed in the blink of an eye. She had never stayed in one home for more than three months, and she'd never had her own personal space. The psychologist theorized that she had attention issues which could lead to acting out in the future, but it was a unanimous agreement that being adopted and placed in a loving home would be the best thing for her.

Brenda smiled at the little girl then stood back up, "Well you have my number if you need me, so I think I'm going to head home. It seems like you two have this under control."

She shook their hands, and Elena said, "Thank you so much, for everything. It means the world to us to finally have her." Elena glanced down at Morgan and pushed some of her hair out of her eyes, thinking that she would get her hair cut sometime soon. It was long and tangled looking now, falling several inches past her shoulders, and it made her wonder just what kind of care she had been getting at her last foster home. Had she been eating enough? Was she being bathed often enough? Was anyone reading to her, and helping her learn? Were they letting her play and have fun?

There were a lot of unanswered questions, but the only thing she could do now was make sure Morgan got all of the attention she deserved.

Brenda replied, "You're very welcome, Elena. I'm happy to see Morgan going to such a good home. If I don't hear from you, I'll call tomorrow and maybe stop by quickly for that first evaluation."

"Sounds good." Damon confirmed.

With one last wave as she walked away, they were left alone with Morgan—their daughter.

Once Elena got her alone earlier, she started asking questions about her new house. Elena described it as best she could, but really, the boarding house was like a castle to a little kid, and no amount of words could ever do it justice. But as soon as she told her that there were no other kids, it was like Christmas morning to her.

It made something tug at Elena's heartstrings, knowing that she was actually excited about getting all of the attention.

Elena waited with Morgan in the front of the airport while Damon brought around the car. They took her Jeep Liberty instead of Damon's Camaro since they now had a car seat in the back, and the four wheel drive would help with the snowy roads. Now it actually mattered if they got into an accident, because they were driving with someone that _could_ get hurt.

Taking the sparkly blue winter coat, Elena helped Morgan into it as she complained, "I not have to wear this in Phoenix."

Elena smiled a little, "Yeah, it's kind of annoying, but it's really cold out there. You wouldn't want to freeze, would you?"

"How cold?" She asked curiously. "Like ice cream?"

Elena laughed, "Yeah, as cold as ice cream. Or a popsicle. Have you ever watched the Christmas movie where the boy gets his tongue stuck to a metal pole?"

She shook her head and giggled, "His tongue got stuck?"

"It sure did." She confirmed. "So don't go licking poles, okay? It'll hurt, and we'll have to call the police to get you off."

"Mm-mm!" She shook her head, and Elena pulled the gloves out of her pockets.

"Good girl. Now put these on so your little fingers stay warm." Elena wiggled her fingers and tickled Morgan's sides, making her laugh loudly.

When she quieted down, Elena got all of her fingers in the right places then pulled on her knit hat. Then they sat down right next to the window so they could watch for Damon. Elena attempted to untangle her hair while she played with her stuffed rabbit, but what it really needed was a good brushing.

And then it hit her.

As she was running her fingers through Morgan's hair, it really hit her that this was her daughter. This was her family. Her child to love and to raise, to keep safe and care for forever.

She sniffled a little and wiped away the lone tear that escaped, and Morgan turned around with a shy frown. "Are you sad?"

Elena smiled widely, shaking her head, "No, baby, I've never been happier. You know why?" Morgan shook her head. "Because of you. We get to take you home and love you forever, and make sure you're always happy."

"How long is forever?"

It seemed like she was a never ending stream of questions, but Elena was all too happy to entertain her curiosity.

"Forever is a very long time. Millions and millions of years, as many years as you could imagine and more."

She nodded thoughtfully, playing with the plastic nose of her bunny, before asking, "Are you my mommy? Brenda said that I was getting a new mommy and daddy."

Elena gave her a smile, "I'm not your biological mommy, which means you were never in my tummy, and we're not related to each other. But Damon and I adopted you, which means that we're like your second mommy and daddy. When you're older, if you want to know about your first mommy and daddy, then we can tell you."

Morgan's real parents were nothing out of the ordinary, as far as putting a child up for adoption goes. Her mom was sixteen when she had her, and her dad was not much older. It was just like Elena's situation, except Morgan didn't get so lucky as to be placed with a couple that wanted her as soon as she was born.

"Should I call you mommy?"

"If you want to, Morgan." Elena answered gently. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but because we adopted you, we're legally your parents. If you don't want to call me mommy and Damon daddy, then that's okay though, because we will love you no matter what."

"Okay."

Elena noticed Damon pulling to a stop just outside the doors, and she asked, "Ready to go home, Morgan?"

"Forever?"

Elena's heart just about melted as she confirmed, "Forever. I promise."

Damon met them around at the back door, and they both made sure that Morgan was securely strapped into her car seat. They shared one short kiss, communicating all of the happiness they didn't know how to express through words, before Damon returned to the driver's seat and Elena climbed in the back with Morgan.

She handed her some coloring books and a box of crayons to play with since the drive was about an hour long. She wasn't very interested in them though, instead she had a slew of questions that she wanted answered, and her new parents were all too eager to teach her about anything and everything.

"Where does the snow come from?" She asked as she watched the flurries flit across the window and melt when they touched it.

Elena explained, "Well it comes from the clouds, just like rain. When it gets cold enough, all of the raindrops freeze before they fall to the ground, making snow."

"How do you make a snowman?"

"You have to start by making a snowball, and then you roll it around in the snow until it gets really big. You do that a few times, and stack all of the snowballs on top of each other, then you can put a face on the snowman." Elena told her.

"When we have hot chocolate, can I have ice cream in mine? And whipped cream?"

Well that sure sounded like a sugar rush if she ever did hear one, and Damon answered, "Maybe once you eat some actual food first, then you can have dessert."

"What's for dinner? I like mac n' cheese, and hotdogs, and chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs, and cookies, with milk!"

"No vegetables?" Elena laughed.

"What's a veg-able?"

"Like a carrot, or corn, or anything green and leafy." Elena told her.

She scrunched up her little nose, "I hate green food!"

Elena rolled her eyes while Damon chuckled from the front seat. Yeah, it was going to be fun getting her on a healthy diet. Human food was something neither of them had to worry about unless they wanted to eat it just for pleasure, but luckily Damon was an amazing cook, and Elena grew up on kid's food that was easy to make.

The ride went by quickly with Morgan there to occupy everyone's attention, and Damon was turning into the driveway before any of them knew it.

Morgan's eyes went wide with excitement as she looked at the house, "This is where you live!?"

Damon turned in the front seat to smirk at her, "We get the whole place all to ourselves, and now it's yours too. Wanna check it out?"

"Yeah!" She squealed, beginning to squirm in her car seat in attempt to wrestle out of the straps. Elena unbuckled them for her and hopped out just as Damon opened Morgan's door for her. She barreled outside like a bat out of hell and ran full speed toward the snow in the yard. The driveway had been plowed, leaving it quite obvious that at least a foot had fallen.

Morgan launched herself into the huge snow bank, giggling gleefully as she picked up the snow to inspect it for the first time.

"It's so cold!" She screeched, beaming as little flecks of snow melted on her face.

With her hand in Damon's, Elena grinned, "Morgan, let's go inside first so we can show you around and then you can put on some snow pants and we'll play in the snow, alright?"

"Okay!" She said, climbing out of the snow and brushing it off of her leggings that were now damp.

She didn't seem to mind in the slightest, instead she just ran towards the front door as Elena yelled, "Be careful, the snow is slippery!"

She didn't even slow down despite the warning, and Damon laughed, "She may not be ours genetically, but I've got a feeling we'll share more than just a stubborn attitude."

Elena shook her head and Damon kissed her temple before they grabbed Morgan's bags from the car and headed towards the door where she was drawing pictures in the snow with her fingers. Elena unlocked the door while Damon called for Morgan to come inside, and they even managed to get her snow covered shoes off before she bolted into the house in awe, fawning over the place.

"Whoa! This is like a princess's castle!" She jumped onto the couch, and suddenly Elena was glad that they got rid of everything expensive. With the way she was jumping all over everything, it would be broken by now.

She then got down and ran into the library next door, gasping, "That's a lot of books!"

Damon replied, "Do you like to read? Because we made you your own shelf of books over here."

She followed him over to the shelf he'd cleared of antique books and showed her all of the brightly colored bindings and covers. He wasn't quite as in touch with modern children's literature as Elena, so she picked out all of the books. There was one about a hungry caterpillar, another named _If You Give a Mouse a Cookie_, and even some story about a fish with colorful scales and a few glittery ones.

Morgan ran her fingers along the spines of the books before grabbing one that was a dark purple color. It was titled _Harold and the Purple Crayon_. Damon had no fucking clue what that even meant, so when she asked what it was about, it was all up to Elena.

She answered, "It's about a little boy that has a special crayon that lets him go on adventures by drawing things. I can read it to you sometime if you want."

Morgan nodded and made to put the book back on the shelf, and Damon helped her get it back between the other books. She was then running to explore the next part of the house, which was just the hallway that connected a second foyer to the first where the staircase was.

"Can I go upstairs?" She asked.

Elena nodded, "Of course. Your room is up there next to ours."

She carefully climbed every stair so she didn't fall, and when she got the to the top she didn't even know which direction to go in. Damon pointed to the right, "This way, Morgan. Down to the left is nothing but extra bedrooms and my brother's room, but he doesn't live here anymore."

Once Damon and Elena announced that they were officially going to adopt, it hadn't even been up for debate to Stefan that he needed to move out. They were their own family now, and needed their space. Besides, Caroline sold her childhood home after being unable to bear the memories of her mom, and they ended up finding a great house to buy in Elena's old neighborhood. They were a couple streets down from Jeremy and Bonnie now.

"You have a brother?" She asked. "I had three brothers in Phoenix, but they didn't like playing with me…" She dropped her head to the look at the ground. She didn't have any biological brothers, so she must have been living with other foster children.

Damon kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. When her big brown eyes looked up at him he said, "I promise my younger brother will love playing with you. I bet he'll even let you dress him up like a princess and have tea parties with you. How does that sound?"

Elena stifled a laugh as Morgan beamed, "Yeah! What's his name?"

"Stefan." Damon told her, standing back up.

"Will he pretend to be the dragon that I fight to get the treasure?"

Damon smirked to himself, "Well, his bark isn't quite as good as his bite, but—"

Elena elbowed his side, cutting him off, "Of course, sweetie, I'm sure he'd love to be a dragon."

There had been a lot of deliberation as to how they'd explain to her that they weren't human. In fact, they were actually blood thirsty monsters. But they couldn't just say that to a four year old, could they? Of course, showing them their vampires faces was kind of off the table. With her age, she'd freak out and run screaming. They still weren't entirely sure how to go about telling her that basically her entire family was vampires, but they'd figure out a way to slowly ease her into it sooner or later.

They started walking down the hall, and they first showed her their room since it was the first door on the way. And unsurprisingly, the first thing she did was jump on the giant bed. She burrowed herself under the covers and they joined her on the bed. Damon began poking and tickling the squirming lump of blankets, earning several ear piercing screams of delight that would make even a human wince, let alone two vampires with extra sensitive hearing.

When she finally did emerge, she was smiling up at them both, showing off all of her baby teeth. Her hair was sticking straight up from static and Elena laughed as she tried to smooth it down but it went straight back up.

Morgan didn't seem to care in the slightest though as she crawled off the bed and landed on the floor with a soft thud before running into the bathroom. She was climbing into the tub before either of them could stop her, and she shouted, "This is huge!"

"Let's go check out your room now." Elena said, grabbing her hands and lifting her out of the tub.

She skipped behind them as they showed her to her room right next door. Of course, they had been expecting a baby when it was originally decorated, so they had to make some alterations, but it was still almost the same. The walls were a soft gray and had cute decals of trees and animals on them. Morgan's full sized bed was against the wall to the right, complete with a pink and gray polka dotted comforter and pillows that matched. They got rid of the crib and put it in storage since she was already sleeping in a regular bed in Phoenix, and the changing table was in storage too. They kept the rocking chair though, and added another armchair that matched the décor. And once they knew who they were getting, they started shopping for toys and clothes. Morgan's closet was packed full, though they kept a lot of the toys boxed up to give her for Christmas next month.

"This is all mine!?" She asked in shock.

Elena smiled up at Damon and he said, "All yours. Knock yourself out, kid."

As she began blowing around the room like a tornado, Elena leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss Damon's jaw, whispering, "I can't wait to have you alone tonight…"

He smirked, "One thing at a time, kitten, or else I might just decide that Morgan can entertain herself for twenty minutes or so…"

Elena giggled softly and grabbed the front of his button up, pulling his lips down to hers for a soft kiss.

When Morgan absorbed everything in her room, they brought her back downstairs for dinner. Elena was just making a box of mac n' cheese, upon Morgan's request, while Damon started a fire and turned on the television for Morgan while she waited.

Damon flopped down onto the couch across from the TV which was placed against the wall opposite the kitchen. Morgan climbed up on the couch next to him, pushing her hair out of her eyes, as Damon asked, "Do you want your hair cut soon?"

"I don't know." She said easily, making him roll his eyes. He told her to wait there for a moment while he went to the closest bathroom and rooted around in the drawers until he found one of Elena's brushes and a hair tie.

He returned to the living room where she was sitting patiently, and he said, "Let's run a brush through that rat's nest you call hair."

She laughed, "Rats not live in my hair!"

He flared his eyes at her as he reached out to squeeze her sides a couple times, "They might as well, have you seen your hair? Now come here so I can brush it."

She climbed between his legs facing the TV and watching some show with dogs dressed like firefighters. He slowly started working the brush through her hair, and she didn't complain once. Her hair didn't really have a style to it, no bangs or anything like that, it was just long. When it was all smoothed out, Damon gathered it on top of her head and wrapped the hair tie around it.

"Better?" He asked knowingly.

She nodded, "Yeah."

Elena was calling her to dinner a few minutes later, and she thought it was absolutely hilarious that you could cut up a hotdog to make it look like an octopus and place it on top of a sea of mac n' cheese.

She ate it all up like she'd never seen food before, and though the idea was ridiculous, it kind of made them wonder if she had been getting enough food to fill her belly.

After dinner, they got her dressed and ready to play in the snow with what was left of the day, which was only an hour or two. With it being winter, the sun set way too early for anyone's taste.

Morgan had a blast learning how to make snowmen and snow angels, and when they were finished with those they taught her how to have a snowball fight. Her snowballs weren't really balls, or even any shape, since she couldn't really pack the snow together hard enough. She was pretty much just throwing around handfuls of snow, but Elena and Damon pretended like they were getting hit with actual snowballs, which made her laugh hysterically every time they faked getting hit.

While Morgan focused on building her snow fort, Damon laid down on the snow to make another snow angel. There were three sizes all over the place; Damon's big ones, Elena's slightly smaller ones, and Morgan's really small ones.

Elena laid down next to him in the snow, or rather, on top of him, and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. They hadn't done something so mundanely human like this in the entire time they'd known each other.

They both kept one eye on Morgan while Elena pressed a few kisses against his cheek and jaw.

"How are you doing with all of this?" Elena asked him, propping her head up on her hand with her elbow bent and resting on his shoulder.

"Pretty good, honestly." He said. "Why, were you thinking I was freaking out?"

She shrugged, "Nah, you looked fine, but I just wanted to make sure. Having a kid isn't damaging your ego, is it?"

He laughed, "Baby, I got over that the second I laid eyes on her. I mean, she's adorable. Who wouldn't love that?"

Elena looked over at Morgan. She was licking a handful of snow thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Elena shivered when she felt Damon's cold nose press against her neck as he kissed her pulse point, reminding her that if two dead vampires were getting cold, Morgan had to be like an ice cube.

She managed to convince her to come inside without so much as a single pout with the promise of that hot chocolate she wanted earlier, except they made a little compromise on the ice cream part since it was almost bedtime. She didn't get ice cream, but she got whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

She had a feeling it was going to be hard to deny the little girl anything she wanted.

While she sat at the table drinking her hot chocolate, Elena stood leaning against Damon in the kitchen, her arms around his waist. "How are we going to tell her?" She asked quietly. He frowned a little at her, silently asking what she was talking about. Elena let the veins around her eyes crawl to the surface for a moment and Damon shrugged in response.

"We should probably say something sooner rather than later."

The sound of Morgan's metal spoon clanking around the mug stole their attention. Damon grabbed her mug and set it in the sink before they brought her upstairs for a bath and to change into pajamas. She was excited to have a practically endless amount of options in her closet.

When she asked for a bedtime story, Elena saw it as their opportunity to introduce the idea of vampires. She shared a look with Damon and flashed him some fang over her head to let him in on the plan, and he nodded before settling in on the other side of Morgan so she was sandwiched between them, all tucked in.

"This story is a true story." Elena told her to start with.

"It is?"

Damon confirmed, "Yep. It all started back in the 1800's, and it's still being written today."

"That's a long story." She commented.

Elena smiled at Damon, "The main characters have a lot time on this planet."

"Are they magic?"

"Actually, yes." Elena answered before beginning, "Once upon a time, there was a very handsome man that lived in a big house here in Virginia. He and his brother were the best of friends, until a horrible woman came in between them. You see, she had magic in her. She wasn't human, and she had special powers that made her extra strong, super fast, and able to make people do whatever she wanted. There were other people like her, but not all of them used their powers for evil like her. Her name was Katherine."

Morgan was looking at Elena thoughtfully, and when Damon took over the next part her gaze shifted to him.

"Katherine made both of the brothers fall in love with her. She was selfish, and mean, and didn't care if either of them got hurt. Now, the thing about Katherine was that with her special powers, she was able to live forever. She never got old, and she never got sick—she would look exactly the same for millions and millions of years. That's why people like her weren't always accepted by humans. They were afraid of her, and what she could do to them."

"What was she?" Morgan asked. "A witch?"

"Not quite." Damon said. "But a witch made her a long, long time ago. She was a vampire."

"Did she drink the brothers' blood?" She asked, seemingly unfazed by the idea.

Damon smiled a little, "As a matter of fact, she did. She was an evil vampire, and soon the town grew suspicious of her. Some humans knew what she was, and they wanted to kill her to protect everyone from her evil ways. So one day, the town began attacking all of the vampires they knew about, but the brothers got caught in the battle because they both loved her. They both died protecting her."

"But wasn't she evil?"

"She was." Damon said confidently. "But neither of the brothers cared because love is the most powerful weapon."

"So she got away with it?"

Elena spoke up, "Not quite. Katherine escaped all of the humans that were attacking her and let the brothers think she was going to be trapped in a dungeon that only a witch could open, and when the two brothers died, she turned them into vampires, just like her."

"They became evil then?"

"No, not at all." Elena said. "They were hurt that Katherine left them when they both thought she loved them, but eventually, they both moved on. The younger brother forgot all about her in a few short years, and grew to hate her for turning him into a vampire. The other brother still loved her, but he knew that they would have a chance of being together in the future because she was just trapped. So he waited."

"Way too long, if you ask me." Damon grumbled, earning a smile from Morgan. "He waited nearly one hundred and fifty years."

"Whoa, that's so long!" She observed. "Why did he wait so long for a girl that didn't love him?"

Damon shrugged a little, "Because he didn't know any better. So, now we're back in this century. This next part all happened in 2009, which is just a few years before you were born."

Elena nodded, "This is the part where it gets good. So the brother that was waiting for Katherine came back to the same town he was born in to save her. Enough time had passed, and she was able to be freed. He thought they would be together forever, because they were both vampires."

"And vampires live forever."

"That's exactly right." Elena smiled. "While the brother was back in town, waiting for the right moment to free Katherine, his younger brother that hated her showed up too. Katherine turned out to be a special kind of person. All vampires were once human, and when Katherine was human she was a doppelganger. That's a fancy word for a twin, but years and years and years apart in age. Katherine was born in the 1500's, but her doppelganger was born in 1992."

"Many people said they looked identical, but I think the doppelganger was prettier." Damon said, sending Elena a wink.

Elena rolled her eyes and continued, "Well, as it turned out, the two brothers met Katherine's double, and they were confused as to why she looked just like their former love. The younger brother that hated Katherine ended up falling in love with her double, and she fell in love with him. They were a happy couple, too."

Damon added, "Until the older brother discovered that Katherine was never in the dungeon." Elena gasped dramatically and Morgan giggled. Damon grinned, "That's right! She had lied to both brothers, and let them think she was trapped while she was living her life, eating the most delicious chocolate you could imagine and being evil."

"I want to hear more about the younger brother and his girlfriend!" Morgan demanded.

Elena laughed a little, "Okay. So the couple was happier than ever, right? Well, the older brother was hurting over Katherine. She broke his heart, and the only friend he had happened to be Katherine's double. He wasn't big on sharing, but when he did, it made her like him just a little bit more. So a little bit of time passed, and then Katherine decided that she wanted the brothers back. She was very cruel, and tried everything she could to get her double and the younger brother to break up."

"Did it work?"

"Nope." Elena said proudly. "But in the end, they did break up. You see, Katherine's double realized that she had feelings for the older brother. They had built a strong friendship while battling all sorts of monsters and vampires. Even though she was human and he was a vampire, she still trusted him. He saved her life a few times, too, and he was always there for her when she needed him."

"What about the younger brother?"

Damon replied, "After Katherine's double broke up with him, he was hurting for a while. But now that she was single, that gave way for the real romance. You see, everyone has to go through a little bit of heartbreak before they're able to appreciate what true happiness is. So the older vampire brother and the young human were just about to have their chance, when suddenly, the human was accidentally turned into a vampire."

"Being a vampire is a bad thing?" Morgan asked curiously.

"Not always." Damon told her truthfully. "Sometimes, humans don't want to be vampires. They want to be able to grow old and have a normal life. They might even want to have kids, which is something vampires can't do. But there are also some good things about being a vampire, like getting to be with the person you love forever. This doppelganger, though, didn't want to be a vampire. But that didn't stop her from giving up a human life to save the older brother because she loved him so much. She died so he could live, and she turned into a vampire as a result."

"And it wasn't easy for them after that." Elena pointed out. "They had to go through a lot of hard times together before they finally got their shot at happiness. They fell so madly in love with each other that the fact that they were both vampires didn't seem to matter anymore. There were a lot of times that they didn't think they'd ever get to be happy, especially when the evil vampire Katherine returned, but together, they drove a stake through her heart to make sure she would never hurt anyone ever again."

"So did everyone live happily ever after?" Morgan asked. "Even the younger brother?"

Damon nodded, "They did. The older brother and the new vampire doppelganger got married, and fell more in love with each other every day. The younger brother ended up falling in love with a vampire girl that he was friends with for a really long time, and they're living together today as we speak."

"You said the story's not done yet?"

"Not quite yet." Elena said. "Actually, it will go on forever so long as they're both still alive. They're vampires, remember, so forever is forever."

"And they're happy now?"

Elena smiled, "As happy as they could possibly be."

"What were their names?"

Damon and Elena shared a look before she said, "Damon and Elena."

Her eyes seemed to light up a bit and she turned to Damon, "You were the older brother?"

He nodded, "And Elena was the doppelganger."

"But you're not actually vampires." She said confidently.

Damon smirked at Elena before saying, "We've all got a little bit of magic in us, Morgan. Some more than others, but it doesn't make us any better or any worse than others. As long as you're a good person and respect others you'll do okay in this world."

And didn't he know it. Maybe if he had taken his own advice over all the years, he wouldn't have had so many enemies.

"Alright, time for bed." Elena said, standing up along with Damon and re-tucking her back into bed. She kissed the top of her head then said, "Goodnight Morgan, sleep tight. We're right next door if you need anything, so don't be afraid to wake us up, okay?"

She nodded and then Damon leaned down to give her forehead a kiss, "Goodnight, baby, we'll see you in the morning."


End file.
